#for reference i am talking about the godzilla movies

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

Me: *explaining why everyone in the movie is an idiot*

My dad, not hearing a single word I'm saying: that's nice honey

[lilybug-02]

TIL that Japanese Godzilla fans refer to the 1998/Tri-star Godzilla as Maguro (マグロ) or Maguro-san (マグロさん), which means Tuna, or Mr. Tuna because of his piscivorous nature in the movie. It's an adorable nickname and I thought I'd share it with you ;D

Haha! I didn't know that, that's hilarious! I can't speak for the American Godzilla fans, but I think most people reference it by "Tristar", for the studio's name. It's easier to talk about to my non-godzilla aquatinted friends (they still have no idea what i'm talking about, who am i kidding).

[mochminnie]

What to expect for my Outgrown Ken x Reader/OC fic

Reader’s is a plus sized Filipina named Hana Takahasi a Elementary English Teacher in Japan & Content Creator

After 8 years not seeing Kenji and not spending time like you both used to. Back in the states. Paano kung, magkita kayong ulit dalawa? (What if you both meet again?)

Meeting him again at the elementary school.

Mina “Ken you have to go to the school as a visitor.”

Ken rolls and his eyes, groans. “With children Mina? I expect senior highschool students having a sports scholarship to college.”

Ken sneaking into your class. 

Finding out he’s Ultraman and that his dad was also Ultraman

Cooking/Baking for him and he joins and he grows to love cooking again

Him taking you out shopping

Spa days with Emi and Ken

Putting Ken on new skincare

Him secretly watching your videos and performance since you both drifted apart.

Writing letters cause that was your thing. And he kept all of them.

Him lifting you up and spinning you around. But you’re scared you might fall or for him and him sending you gifts

Having such a good friendship. With his parents especially his mom and helping him trying to find his mom. His mom was good friends with your parents.

Reader have a good relationship with both of her parents. (Finally making a story where both parents having a good relationship with their kid)

Helping him find Kaiju Island

“It’s going to be tough. I know she’s a 20 foot kaiju. Its not going to be easy. That’s why me and Mina are here to help you. It’s okay not to be okay and to ask for help.”

Helping him take care of Emi

-calling her pinky baby, “my pinky binky baby”

-lots of Disney and Marvel references and letting her watch Disney movies

-singing and dancing to her

“I have had it with that stupid song!” Ken screaming and stressing.

-teaching her sign language

-Doing the old Godzilla dance with her, clapping and doing little dances Listening to Emi watch and the song in 'Kaiju Step Wandabada'

-she wants to chase you and carry you all the time

-reading to her

Ken gave you his bunny (Ollie) when you were both kids. When you moved to Japan you gave it back to Professor Sato. And Professor Sato gave him to Emi.

Even the hello kitty dodgers Ken sent you. You showed it to professor sato with the box full of remembrance of your friendship both you and Kenji. Showing his father everything and Professor Sato showing you his signed baseball and Ken’s baseball card.

“You are the best thing that happened to Kenji and grow up a beautiful strong young woman.” Professor Sato.

"Wow my dad and Hana are Kaiju whisperers." 

“How are you still bright and up early with a lack of sleep?” Ken with messy hair and black coffee in hand with a mug that says, ‘I hate mornings’

Him fighting bullys

Him fighting with the opposing team because he was talking negatively about you.

Arguing and it was more than the bickering.

“No! Don’t talk to me like that. I am not going to let you do what you did to me. Eight years ago because that hurt more than what people(bullies) have said or done “

Making Ken do the High School Musical Now or Never trend and other trends on the internet.

Being in social media, the news, the tabloid mags, newspaper

“Hana are you the ‘Ken Sato’s special girl in his life?’ “ Jade (Hana’s Bestie)

Taglist: @flowerloves @thoughtfulbelieverstrawberry @kikostarshooter @miffysoo @jvg0902 @pattycakes2024 @redblueequalhot

[chaos0pikachu]

Two Flavors of Japanese (BL) Cinema

Recently I came across a post that proposited that Japanese cinema hadn't changed since the 1950's and came in, essentially, two types. 

Let's discuss that. 

I can’t go into the history of all Japanese cinema in a singular blog post like that’s just not possible, there’s literal books and classes you can take on this subject, and I will be linking further reading down at the bottom of the post so you can do just that. 

This fact alone, should already disprove the point that Japanese cinema hasn’t changed since the 1950’s. Other than the fact that like, Japan isn’t a static society that is forever unchanging because human beings do not work like that. 

Which is why I’m writing this essay at all. 

I love cinema, I love storytelling and filmmaking. And, frankly, I may not be an expert but I am annoying. I own that. 

Japanese cinema has held influence over many directors, writers, animators, and so forth. 

Just watch this playlist of Sailor Moon references across various cartoons. Or how Satoshi Kon influenced the work of Darren Aronofsky and Christopher Nolan. Or how James Cameron and the Wachowskis were both influenced by Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 Ghost in the Shell. And then there’s Akira Kurosawa who’s been cited as a major influence for directors like: Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Martin Scorsese and a slew of others.

I want folks to know there’s a slew of amazing films from Japan and that distilling the industry - the blood, sweat and tears of its creators - to a strict dichotomy of this or that, either/or is disrespectful at best and xenophobic at worst. 

It’s also just a shame because, like, guys there’s so many great films from Japan! There’s also probably a lot of great live action shows from Japan but I’m not super knowledgeable about them - I mainly watch anime so that’s not a great metric in terms of Japanese television - so I’m just talking about films in this post. 

Ok so main points I’m gonna address: 

Japanese Cinema hasn’t changed since the 1950s 

Japanese film style falls under an extreme dichotomy of cinematic/sweeping (described as “atmospheric”) or cartoonish/slapstick (described as “live action manga”)

Baby does any of this have to do with BL? (no, but it IS more gay than you think)

With these four films: The Hidden Fortress (1958), Lady Snowblood (1973), Gohatto (1999), and Kubi (2023). 

I picked these four because they’re all “period pieces” taking place feudal Japan - or with the aesthetics of feudal Japan, The Hidden Fortress nor Lady Snowblood aren’t based on actual historical events, like Gohatto and Kubi are, however loosely, but take place in an amorphous 15th to 18th century Japan - and I think they strongly show the development of this singular genre in Japanese cinema. 

Plus the latter two films, Gohatto and Kubi, are gay as fuck and I know my people. 

[you can also read this post on this blog post which includes additional links as tumblr has a limit and for easier readability as this is a long post]

The Hidden Fortress 

Released in 1958, directed by Akira Kurosawa it’s probably the most well-known film on the list. It’s a film that exists within the “Golden Age” of Japanese cinema alongside films like Kurosawa’s own Seven Samurai (1954), Yasujirō Ozu’s Tokyo Story (1953) and Kenji Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu (1953). 

It was also the era where, after the American Occupation post-WWII a boom of movie distribution took place with new film studios such as: Toho (y’all know them from any Godzilla movie ever made), Toei (if you know One Piece you know Toei but they’ve done a ton of films both animated and live action) and others. 

The story is straight forward, two peasants, Matashichi and Tahei who bicker their asses off like an old married couple the entire film, happen upon a Very Hot Man with the Only Thighs Out (Toshiro Mifune was a BABE) named Rokurota and his companion a icy young woman named Yuki. 

Matashichi and Tahei have just escaped like, a ton of ~circumstances that include failing to become samurai, being broke as fuck, getting captured and forced into servitude - don’t worry that lasted like 6 hours tops - and then find gold hidden in a stick on a mountain. 

Turns out Rokurota has all the stick gold they could want! So they team up neither realizing Rokurota and Yuki are actually part of a clan that’s been recently wiped out and they’re on the run from a rival clan who has wiped theirs out. Yuki is the princess of said clan and it’s only survivor, while Rokurota is her samurai general and retainer. 

Tahei and Matashichi, living in ignorance of these facts, try to steal the gold away from them because they live that hustle life until the end when all is revealed and Yuki grants them both with a gold piece to share (this is a really big piece of stick gold). 

There’s other things that happen, like a fight scene between Rokurota and rival clan member, Yuki owning every single scene she in - I fucking love her - but that’s the gist. 

The story is, again, pretty uncomplicated, it balances the comedy of Tahei & Matashichi with the stoicism of Rokurota and Yuki well, and all the acting is strong. In terms of its film style, by modern day standards it’s not especially “cinematic” Kurosawa doesn’t favor fanetic camera movements, his camera is often very still and the movement he employs is often in individual character ticks, and/or background set pieces. This film has a lot of great set pieces. 

Kurosawa didn’t employ camera techniques like panning, he doesn’t really do extreme close ups, there's no swooping shots or fancy tricks, I’d say a majority of the camera shots in The Hidden Fortress are a combination of mid, and wide, with a few mid-close ups. One thing to notice is Kurosawa’s use of scene cuts; instead of a cut he used pan sweeps to change scenes. If you’ve ever watched a Star Wars film you know exactly what I mean. 

The Hidden Fortress, first and foremost, is an action adventure film. It has more in common tonally with Top Gun Maverick or Star Wars A New Hope, in that it's straight forward, sincere, and grand in scale, grounded by a very honest set of characters who are strongly motivated. 

I feel like in modern day discussions we association “action/adventure” films in a sorta of negative way; this is probably due, in part, to the oversaturation of the high budget blockbusters of the last ten years - oh MCU, how you’ve fallen - that are overly bombastic, overly complicated, overly connected, and the root of what audiences connect with - the characters - tends to be lost. 

Scott Lang's motivations in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania are to protect his teenager daughter and the family he's built, which are simple, strong, and relatable character motivations. However, they got lost in the conventions of the plot, the frantic energy of the film, the simple amount going on around Scott that his motivations become less a central focus and thus he becomes small within his own film. We, the audience, become distant and it grows more difficult to connect with what's happening. This can still work on some level, the Fast and Furious franchise isn't successful because it's sophisticated, but the Fast-chise has embraced it's cheesier conventions and spectacle, while blockbusters like the MCU's output, simple juggle to much all at once. It also helps that while the cast keeps growing in the Fast and Furious films, there's still less than ten characters you have to actually know and care about. To fully understand and connect with the characters of The Marvels, you have to watch Ms. Marvel and WandaVision on Disney+ and the task becomes more akin to homework than simply the enjoyment of watching a movie. 

The epic scale grows so large it feels daunting, rather than exhilarating. 

I think this is why a film like Winter Soldier, more so than most MCU films of the last decade, has continued to be a fan favorite of the universe and of blockbuster lovers whether you are a fan of the MCU or not. At its root, Winter Soldier is character driven, with deeply motivated characters,  which is what makes the action and adventure aspects stick. 

The Hidden Fortress is similarly character driven with a simple and straightforward story that is about honor, loyalty, a princess, a loyal samurai/knight, rebuilding a decimated clan, and two “normal” characters to keep everything grounded and relatable. Which in turn, helps make it timeless. While the filmmaking itself isn't grandiose as what modern audiences may be used to, Kurosawa knows how to direct a scene and more than that, direct his actors. Mifune is commanding as always, but for me, it's really actress Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki that steals the movie. 

Lady Snowblood

Released in 1973 and based on a manga of the same name by Kazou Koike and Kazuo Kaminura, directed by Toshiya Fujita, Lady Snowblood and its sequel Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance are considered cult classics. Lady Snowblood, famously, is Quentin Tarantino’s inspiration for his Kill Bill saga (like, a freaking lot). 

Lady Snowblood is a part of the era of “new wave” and “pink films” that were emerging in Japan and elsewhere. Stateside I think a close equivalent to both the style and content of Lady Snowblood and other films like it are exploitation films. In fact while watching Lady Snowblood I couldn’t help but get exploitation film vibes just off the aesthetics and thematics of the film itself. 

To break down Lady Snowblood’s plot it goes like this: Yuki is tasked with getting revenge on four people who had a hand in her father, and older brother’s murder, and her mother’s rape (which is seen on screen so warning for y’all this is def a Does the Dog Die movie). 

Yuki’s mother kills one of her rapists, but is imprisoned before she can kill the others and while in prison she purposely gets pregnant so her child can carry on her revenge after she dies. Yuki is born, and raised by one of the fellow inmates and a priest who trains her in martial arts. She’s raised as a “demon”, whose only purpose is revenge for her mother, father, and brother. And boy does she get revenge the film is violent and graphic (even if by modern day standards the blood looks fake as fuck the emotions are there). 

Like The Hidden Fortress this film is very character driven, with a highly motivated protagonist but it’s also revels far more in it's violence and the spectacle of that violence. Yuki, in comparison to her earlier counterpart Princess Yuki, is the driver of the action in the story. She's an active participant in the plot, and the story centers around her. Princess Yuki is commendable, she's compassionate, and she makes decisions, but the story is more about what she represents - a fallen princess - than what she does. She's symbolic, the embodiment of a leader, a samurai spirit of nobility who becomes a leader worth following. Yuki, on the other hand, needs no protection from others, she's a much more direct and active part of the story since the story is hers - and her mothers - she's more elegant than regal, and there's nothing necessarily 'noble' about her.  She's not seeking to rebuild her clan as a leader, her motivations are singularly about her revenge quest to fulfill her mother's dying wish. 

In some ways, they're very similar - Yuki also feels compassion for another woman who's been used by the men around her as Princess Yuki does - and in others they are very different and speak to the changing expectations and idealizations of women from the 1950s to 1970s. 

Lady Snowblood is also way more violent than any Kurosawa film I’ve watched including The Hidden Fortress. While there is action in The Hidden Fortress, it’s all employed with specific purpose. Which is one of Kurosawa’s strengths as a director. It’s calculated and singular. Yes blood spurts up in Yojimbo but it's limited; quick and efficient, with more in common with John Wick or Collateral than the more fantastical and aesthetic Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez fare. 

Lady Snowblood revels in the aesthetic violence, there’s no “purpose” for Yuki to cut an already dead person in half, she does it out of pure frustration and for the glory of showing the audience that internal rage. Of a body hanging, dripping blood and gore onto the clean floor as the curtain draws to a close. 

The film also features on screen rape, sex, and nudity which The Hidden Fortress does not. There’s an implication that characters in the film would assault Princess Yuki if they could, but nothing ever goes beyond brief implication (still gross tho guys come on). Whilst in Lady Snowblood, the rape is brutal, the violence is brutal, and the emotions are far more intense because of it all. 

The allowance - for lack of a better term - of this kind of material showcases a cultural shift overall in the terms of visual storytelling filmmaking began experimenting with in telling, and in what audiences were responding too. Lady Snowblood was a beloved success for its overall low budget. In comparison to the two, The Hidden Fortress is filmed better, with more technique and focus, Lady Snowblood almost seems rustic in comparison, but it's a sort of rustic that speaks to experimentation. 

Low angles from a characters pov staring high above her, extreme zooms on Yuki's burning eyes, the oversaturated colors of red-orange blood or green walls or white clothes, the starless pitch black sky as powdery snow falls. The images are arresting even if at times they're choppy, and while the film opts for non-linear chapter breaks to create a story flow in comparison to Kurosawa's iconic screen swipes and straight forward narrative, yet, both work. 

Gohatto

Behold, the promised gay cinema I promised. 

Gohatto is a 1999 film directed by Nagisa Oshima based on the short story, Shinsengumi Keppuroku by Ryotaro Shiba. 

Gohatto is a pretty late entry in the new wave/pink films of its heyday but those films were Oshima’s bread and butter. Often dubbed as one of Japan’s cinema outlaws for his anti-establishment films, one of his films, Night and Fog in Japan (1960) was pulled from theaters all together. Most people in the west will probably know him even tangentially for his queer film Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence starring David Bowie and Beat Takeshi or for this absolutely banger quote from the New York Times article, A Japanese Film Master Returns to his Cinema: 

(If you’re a BTS fan, the composer Suga and RM like, Ryuichi Sakamoto, both starred and composed the main theme of Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence Forbidden Colors, he plays the guy in love with David Bowie’s character)

Gohatto combines the setting of a Kurosawa film, with the more experimental storytelling of Lady Snowblood, whilst imbuing the film with more surrealistic elements and more complexity. And making it gay like - for real for real. 

Gohatto goes like this: it’s the late 18th century in Japan, everything politically is on shaky ground, and the shinsengumi are looking for newbies to join ranks. Welp, they find two promising newbies and wouldn’t ya know it one newbie, Kano, is like, hella pretty. He’s got bangs. 

He’s so pretty in fact that all these other dudes in the shinsengumi crew wanna smash, I mean down bad like the Taylor Swift song or whatever I don’t listen to Taylor Swift. 

This is all treated with a lackadaisical normality; there’s teasing about “I never considered sleeping with a man before, but damn that Kano kinda…” but there’s never a moment of “omg they’re GAY?”

Beat Takeshi’s - who’s also in this film, he’s been in a lot fo queer films I'm noticing - character Vice-Commander Hijikata Toshizo often asks other characters not if they’re attracted to Kano - the implication being that they are - but rather if they are in love with Kano. Because lust is fleeting, but love is dangerous to your duty. 

Kano also might be a spy, or a murderer, it’s all very ambiguous and the ending isn’t a “happy” one. This isn’t a film about a love story of any sort, it has more in common with erotic thrillers than the action adventure of The Hidden Fortress, or the rape revenge fantasy of Lady Snowblood. Where as the former films have definitive endings, Gohatto ends ambiguously. 

What actually happened? And why did it happen? What did it all mean, in the end? The film offers no strict answers to these questions, asking instead, that its audience to come to their own conclusions. It’s also much more historical than the previous two films, taking real life historical figures like: Hijikata Toshizo, Okita Soji, and Kondo Isami and asking the question, “hm, what if they all maybe fell in love with this super pretty man before being overthrown and what does that mean metaphorically?” 

The Hidden Fortress doesn’t ask its audience to interrogate society in any meaningful way and that’s not a knock against it, it’s just an observation. Lady Snowblood specifically presents the plight of women, and a slight take on classism within the system, through the lens of violence and destruction. Gohatto is much more metaphorical, it’s not providing the audience with a direct message like the former two films, but presenting it’s thematics in a much more abstract way. The Hidden Fortress is an action adventure, with heroes who achieve their goals and overcome their obstacles. Lady Snowblood is a rape revenge with an understandable protagonist who succeeds in her bloody revenge. Gohatto has no heroes, and offers no straightforward catharsis at the end of its story story. 

Its film style is also far more atmospheric compared to the epic scale and straightforwardness of The Hidden Fortress, or the lower budget charming violence of Lady Snowblood. 

There’s lots of mood lighting, overhead shots of characters dimly lit, camera cuts to rain after two characters have sex, extreme close ups of one character observing Kano’s eyes and lips. It’s not a black and white film like The Hidden Fortress, but it’s not nearly as saturated in color and brightness as Lady Snowblood. 

Lady Snowblood drips with color, and light, even at night there always almost seems to be a spotlight on Yuki with an empty starless sky in the background. Gohatto is much more grounded in realism than high visual aesthetics, opting to create more of a lingering dreamlike trance or fog to the cinematography when the story’s final act begins to unfold. 

Yet, one thing Gohatto has in common with both The Hidden Fortress and Lady Snowblood is its violence; operating somewhere between the two. Like The Hidden Fortress the violence is quick, purposely, and specific, and like Lady Snowblood blood spurts, gushes, and heads are displayed proudly and grotesquely.

Kubi

Kubi is a 2023 film directed by Takeshi Kitano aka Beat Takeshi - this is the third time his name has been dropped in relation to a queer film in this post go Beat Takeshi - based on a novel of the same name that Kitano also wrote. 

Kubi is like Beat Takeshi’s sengoku period slash RPF fanfic come to gruesome bloody (literal, not British) life. A period piece epic; Kubi is both about samurai warlords and a historical event known as the honno-ji incident, which took place in 1582. It features various historical figures like Oba Nobunage - if you’ve watched some anime or played some JRPGs you’ve probably at least heard of this name before - and other prominent historical figures of the time. 

The basic gist of the movie is Oba Nobunage is both really good at his job, so he’s super powerful politically, but he’s also a grade-a asshole whom all the other important samurai lords fucking hate. However, they also all fucking hate each other and all want to take Nobunage’s place and get all that sweet, sweet power for themselves. The honno-ji incident involved one of these guys doing a coup for reasons still unknown today and then pretty much almost immediately dying swiftly after leaving another samurai lord to take over. 

Kubi takes these historical events, and is like “okay but what if we added some gay innuendo and gay sex to this drama?” with more beheadings than a French revolution. 

Out of all the films on this list Kubi is, admittedly, the one I enjoyed the least, however, it’s an interesting retrospective on the growth of both the Japanese film industry and this specific genre in and of itself. 

Kubi’s film style is very modern, it’s beautiful, it’s sleek, it’s expensive looking. And yet there’s specific scenes that feel like callbacks to the Kurosawa era, like the black and white flashback between Nobunage and his fellow samurai lords. One of Kurosawa’s top films was Kitano’s Hana-Bi (1997), and Kitano has worked with Kurosawa’s daughter on costume design on four other films as well, so these references feel not only purposely because of general influence but also referential in a way. 

In terms of story and tone, Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress is sincere and straightforward, Lady Snowblood is experimental and fearless, Gohatto is introspective and suspenseful, whilst Kubi is unrelenting and even feels mocking at times. There is no break in Kubi's violence, there's almost no tenderness or softness, characters are selfish, and self-centered. The selfish, but joyful peasants in The Hidden Fortress don't exist here, and are replaced with a peasant character who murders his own friend and then rejoices over being relived of his family once he discovers they were murdered too. At times, Kubi feels like a subversion of the more glamourous depictions of the samurai in film. Which feels as though following similar footsteps established in Gohatto which also explored, subtextually, the faults within the samurai media persona. 

At times the film feels almost like a dark comedy, it doesn’t glamorize these samurai warlords, nor their clans, nor their ideals in the way The Hidden Fortress does, nor does it interrogate them in the way Gahotto does. Instead the story at hand is presented with a brutal realism, objective if a bit mocking with a side order of gay sex. Which isn’t presented in a mocking way so much as just an everyday aspect of life. 

When Mitsuhide and Murashige are caught by spies sleeping together there’s no shock or awe about it, just a calm report and the bigger issue is Mitsuhide hiding a fugitive more so than him sleeping with a man.

Similarly, when Nobunage is literally fucking one of his vassals in front of Mitsuhide, it’s not to disgust the other man, but rather a powerplay of sorts to make the latter jealous - at one point Nobunage promises if Mitsuhide accomplishes a mission for him, he’ll sleep with him - and it seemingly works to some degree. There’s subtext throughout the film that Mitsuhide might be, if not in love with Nobunage, want him in an obsessive way all the same (including being down to bone). 

Like with Gohatto the queerness is inherent, just a part of the culture. It’s not “romance” by any means, but it is simply a part of life and the culture itself. 

In terms of characters, Kubi's characters couldn't be more different from the characters in the previous mentioned films. The Hidden Fortress characters like Princess Yuki and Rokurota are easy to like, honorable, quiet, steadfast; while Matashichi and Tahei are less outright likable they offer a grounding and relatable to the big presence that are the former two. In Lady Snowblood, Yuki is quiet, calculating and menacing in her own right, truly embodying the idea of cold vengeance which makes her intriguing. In Gohatto Kano is elusive, which adds to his sensual allure, Okita is playful yet clearly hiding a more sinister air about him, and you just feel bad for Tashiro who’s pushy but seemingly sincere in his affections for Kano. 

Kubi has no by-the-by “likable” characters, every character is out for themselves in some way shape or form. So much so that the brief tenderness between Mitsuhide and Murashige is like a balm to a burn. Though I did absolutely enjoy the scene-chewing of Ryo Kase who played Nobunage. While Nobunage isn't a "likable" character by any means, he was so fun and engaging to watch he became a highlight of the film. 

Stylistically, this is a very modern epic film; it’s the type of film in terms of scale I imagine Kurosawa could have made if he had access to the same technology, but also wouldn’t because there’s no stillness or sincerity to it. The violence is also more in line with Lady Snowblood, but with a budget. Heads are lopped off with ease and at times with glee, dead bodies, headless bodies with crabs crawling out of the necks, a literal pile of heads for trophies it’s all here. It’s beautifully and dynamically filmed, it has a similar scale of a Lord of the Rings, or a Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms. 

Big set pieces, big costumes, big landscapes, big battles, and bigger body counts. It also has the largest cast of any film on the list - kinda neat that Kitano and Asano Tadanobu were both in Kubi and Gohatto together - and the best costumes of the bunch. 

It also, in my opinion, has the most complicated plot of all the films because of the heavy political intrigue - though this, admittedly, could be because of the culture gap as I’m not overly familiar with Japanese history. 

Okay so like, where does all this leave us in terms of those original bullet points? 

The Original Bullet Points

Japanese Cinema hasn’t changed since the 1950s 

If there's one thing - well okay many things cause I'm greedy but overall - I hope I've been able to outline here with these four films is that obviously Japanese cinema has changed since the 1950s. And thoroughly at that. Not just in terms of style, but in terms of character presentation, tone, stories technology, experimentation, and a growing reflection of the shifting and developing culture. 

It’s not simply that all four of these films are different stories, but that all four of these films are addressing different aspects of their modern culture via these period pieces, as well as, viewing this time period in ways that reflect the filmmakers own experiences and how they feel or felt about the world. 

Kurosawa was born in 1910 to Kitano’s 1947, Fujita and Oshima’s 1932. Kurosawa’s father was a member of an actual samurai family, his worldview would be thoroughly different from someone like Oshima, or Kitano, or Fujita’s. Some overlap, sure, but also still thoroughly different. 

And I feel that you can see that in their films; Kurosawa’s samurai films are almost referential at times, not always, but his work with Toshiro Mifune often leans that way; in The Hidden Fortress Mifune’s Rokurota is deeply loyal to his lord, the Princess Yuki, to the point that he won’t shed tears over his own sister being executed in her place. He spares the life of a rival because he respects him even though they stand on opposing sides. 

The samurai in Gohatto and Kubi aren’t nearly so idealized nor idolized, there’s very little “honor” in Kubi and even less loyalty. Whilst in Gohatto there’s a deep and subtle interrogation of the strict and oppressive bylaws of the shinsengumi. In one such scene, Kano is having drinks with a man who is interested in him, Yuzawa, who’s passionately talking about how the shensengumi uphold oppressive ideals including classism. 

[And then he jumps Kano’s bones I guess politics got the dude going lmao]

The Hidden Fortress’ Princess Yuki is at first, masculine - in story she was raised as a man rather than a princess - from the way she walks to the way she talks. She’s fierce, and upstanding, while also being compassionate to other members of her clan; even saving a young woman who’s a member of her clan that had been sold. There’s a regal quality to Princess Yuki. 

In comparison, Yuki in Lady Snowblood is elegant, and feminine, before striking out violently. Princess Yuki never has an “action scene” and in fact for a chunk of the film has to pose as a deaf woman to hide her identity. While not a passive participant in the plot, nor does she directly drive the action herself. While Yuki, well the entire movie is driven by her actions and the actions of her mother. The story is first and foremost, hers. 

Meanwhile women just like, they don’t exist in Gohatto or Kubi they’re like, in the ether~~~ they’re drifting, keeping out - or kept out? - of the drama. 

Given the vast differences in both style, tone, story and execution, how can you say wholeheartedly that Japanese cinema hasn’t changed since the 1950s? 

Japanese film style falls under an extreme dichotomy of cinematic/sweeping (described as “atmospheric”) or cartoonish/slapstick (described as “live action manga”)

I’m just…not gonna get into the overall history of Japan's adaptation of manga into live action films cause it would derail this conclusion and I ain’t got the time for that. I would like to note, Lady Snowblood is a live action film based on a manga of the same name - and it is not slapstick. It doesn’t even have comedic elements, it is a violent rape revenge story; I don’t think there’s a single moment where I chuckled. The Hidden Fortress is far lighter in tone, while Gohatto has more in common with Lady Snowblood - deeply and sincerely serious - and Kubi goes for a darker sort of comedy. 

This is just incorrect information. Personally I’m of the mind that “cinematic/sweeping is too broad a spectrum to even quantify as a film genre they are descriptors. 

That said, I don’t think Lady Snowblood is cinematic or sweeping. Gohatto is the only one on the list that’s even close to “atmospheric” though all four films have atmosphere - because atmosphere is a film technique it’s not a genre of film - The Hidden Fortress and Kubi are the only two I could qualify as “cinematic/sweeping” because they’re going for a larger bombastic scale. Though I feel folks watching The Hidden Fortress in the modern day might not find it cinematic because of how static and slow the film can be at times - the first act is long and drags quite a bit. 

To place such a strict dichotomy on an entire industry of filmmaking is simply bad film critique at best and xenophobic at worst given the context here. I’ve only talked about four films in one singular genre, I didn’t mention the countless other new wave films, or the birth of the kaiju genre with Godzilla, the expansion into horror and grindhouse - where does a film like Tag (2015) fit into such a strict dichotomy? -  nor the long, long history of animated works from various insanely highly influential and/or successful directors like Satoshi Kon, Makoto Shinkai, Hideaki Anno, Rintaro, Mamoru Hosoda, Mamoru Oshii, Isao Takahata, I mean the list goes on and on. 

If you expand your horizons you’ll find so many amazing films that do not flatly sit in this one or the other imposed categorization. Think about what queer cinema you may be missing out on by adhering to this imposed binary. 

Baby does any of this have to do with BL? (no, but it IS more gay than you think)

So, in the end, what does this have to do with BL? I would say it has both little and a lot to do with BL/GL which are genres all their own in Japan and other neighboring countries; as such their subject to the same waves, exploration and expansion as the four aforementioned films. 

It’s easy, if intellectually dishonest and academically lazy, to look at The Novelist and What Did You Eat Yesterday and say “BL only comes in two shapes and sizes”. 

There’s chocolate or vanilla and that’s it. When in reality there’s lots of ice cream flavors available, even if chocolate and vanilla are the best sellers it doesn’t mean strawberry or mint chocolate chip don’t exist. 

Where does animated BL fall into this western imposed binary? How does capitalism affect the output of what gets made for the screen and how? How does the political climate affect what’s being financed? Are BL and GL works that are being made somehow unaffected, existing in a stasis state, by the works across the film industry? Even from other queer works of film? What are we, as outsiders, not considering when we engage with this media? 

If we’re only looking at BL/GL for “queer representation” what films and/or television are we missing out on from these countries? What BL/GL are we missing by only engaging with what's put in front of us, and not diving deeper into learning more, expanding our individual knowledge, and experiencing stories that might take some work towards seeing? Stories that might be outside of our direct comfort zones because they don't fall into those strict if seemingly comforting boxes. What exploration into queer identity are we denying or ignoring the existence of because of these imposed binaries? 

I know some folks who are more well versed in BL history that would and do consider Gohatto and Kubi BL or BL adjacent, but I also know most western, especially American, audiences would consider neither of these films BL. 

So where does that leave them?

Further Reading: 

Cinematic History: Defining Moments in Japanese Cinema, 1926-1953

A Brief But Essential Introduction to Japanese Cinema

Filmmaking from Japan: The Golden Age of Japanese Cinema

Nagisa Oshima: Banishing Green

JAPANESE SOFTCORE: THE LAST OF TOKYO'S PINK EIGA THEATERS

The Last Samurai: A Conversation with Takeshi Kitano

The Evolution of the Japanese Anime Industry

Check out other related posts in the series:

Film Making? In My BL? - The Sign ep01 Edition | Aspect Ratio in Love for Love's Sake | Cinematography in My BL - Our Skyy2 vs kinnporsche, 2gether vs semantic error, 1000 Stars vs The Sign | How The Sign Uses CGI | Is BL Being Overly Influenced by Modern Western Romance Tropes? | Trends in BL (Sorta): Genre Trends

[eternialakes]

some jp/jw fans are not paying attention to its themes

For example, believing Brooklynn from jwct is evil now and a traitor to her friends (in all senses of the word!) is so boring and lame. It indicates that they're not paying attention to the story unless it's a dino fight. And I put an emphasis on the FIGHTS because when it's a dino behaving like a creature with instincts they dgaf.

Not even referring to the younger kids on the fandom but the grown ass dudes who have been watching since the first movie in 1993.

Some people watching this franchise see it as a monster fight compilation which is sooooo shallow. I get not caring much abt the human protagonists or villains (they've never been thaaat good), and the dinos will always be the stars of the show (as they should 🦕🦖👑). The thing is that they haven't even thought about the themes and messages the movies and even the original Crichton books touch in a way that it's not even that subtle.

English is not my first language so this may have not sounded coherent enough, but I am also pissed. Because of how the Youtube and Instagram parts of the fandom talk about the carnivores as if they were Godzilla, the human characters as waifus and husbandos who aren't allowed to have any flaws (the fact that the "worst" character of the franchise according to them is a lady that screams a lot and not the animal abusers is just laughable) and they find the commentary on conservation, greed, messing with mother nature and enviromentalism boring.

Ok that's enough of weird words and incoherent phrasing for today.

[dragon-snoots-a-boopin]

Alright, I've seen this video and response videos to it, several of them at this point. So, I am going to give my response on this person poorly made and not all researched video. While I am not like a major fan of Godzilla but, I know bullshit when I see it and this video is full of bullshit.

"Godzilla is the biggest media franchise in Japan" is a huge statement that isn't backed by any sort of evidence to this claim. Rather, he makes a joke about pretending that anime doesn't exist for 20 minutes. In fact, by doing a single Google search, I was able to find that Pokemon is the biggest Japanese media franchise. Not anime thrown into one single group, just Pokemon all on its own.

We then get the take that Godzilla as a franchise has become so big that people don't know it originated in Japan. Like, that is clearly a very wrong take. Like, there is no research required for this one. Pretty much everyone knows that Godzilla is a Japanese franchise and the fact that they even say this shows how little brain power this person has.

There's the take that Godzilla in public domain in America which is 100% false. Again, a simple Google search reveals that there is a photograph of Godzilla that is public domain in America and that's it. Toho owns everything Godzilla related and always will.

Makes a point early on is the person stating that they don't like Godzilla. I'm sorry, why are you making a 26 minute video on a topic that you hate? No wonder this video has so much bullshit.

They talk about a nuclear test that America did where they say that it killed EVERYONE on a boat called the Lucky Dragon. In fact, this is completely wrong. Only one person died and if they did their research then they would have found this out.

Now we get to the point of actually talking about Godzilla (2014). Now, the way he talks about it makes me think that they didn't actually watch the movie. They say that Godzilla becomes a symbol for American heroism which is so wrong. Godzilla doesn't give a crap about the humans and a lot of people, Americans included, die as a result of Godzilla's actions. This is followed up with saying that Godzilla is an ally to the American military in the movie and only shows the shot where some aircraft carriers are following Godzilla like that is evidence enough? Again, this is wildly incorrect because, again, Godzilla doesn't care about the humans present in the movie, not once. Godzilla's focus is on the MUTOs and that's it. We also get this really poor take that in the 2014 movie, Godzilla is a Superman figure which, guess what, is not correct at all. Godzilla doesn't try to mitigate how much damage is being caused, doesn't attempt to save anyone or just being a force for good in general. Godzilla, in the 2014 movie, is meant to be a neutral force of nature but, because it doesn't have the same allegory for nuclear testing is bad, like in the original 1954 movie, it just doesn't work.

Now, throughout this person talking about the 2014, he references the MUTOs specifically as Japanese threats. Again, did they actually watch this movie?? Only ONE of the MUTOs started out in Japan. One of them was, in fact, chilling in Nevada, in America, which is clearly stated in the movie. It's like this person is trying to indicate some level of racism in the movie that isn't actually there. Now, we get this take where they say that the U.S. just kind of realized we couldn't stop the MUTOs so we just let Godzilla handle it because hero. Again, if you watch the movie you see that the military had a plan to use nukes to stop the MUTOs and that went sideways so, the decision was to just let Godzilla fight it out. It was a last resort options, not something they chose to do because we want to idolize Godzilla in America. Neither Godzilla nor the MUTOs care about humans being there one point unless the humans are presenting a threat, as they did to the MUTOs on multiple occasions in the movie. They also call the MUTOs a Japanese threat another two times, possibly hinting that the person thinks there is some kind of subtext in the movie of having Godzilla, "the American hero" taking out the MUTOs, "the Japanese threat" which is an incredibly racist way to see this movie and is also completely wrong. One was in Nevada and two were in the Philippines and they made their way to a power plant in Japan.

Now, the person gives the absolute worst take on the 2014 movie by saying that the MUTOs never wanted to be woken up and basically just wanted to be left alone and have babies. DID YOU ACTUALLY WATCH THIS MOVIE??? Do you see the level of destruction that just two to three of these MUTOs cause throughout the movie? Okay, now imagine TENS OF THOUSANDS of these monsters running about the Earth if we had just left them alone to have babies. There would be no more humans left if something had not been done to stop the MUTOs like what the fuck kind of dumbass take is this?

We then get this really bad take about how American cities don't get the level of destruction in these movies. They cite a moment in Godzilla VS Kong where the two have a fight somewhere in China. But, what this person fails to realize is that Godzilla spends time in that movie tracking the remaining presence of Gidorah, which is in pieces of MechaGodzilla and one of those is in a town in Florida and so Godzilla goes there and intentionally causes major levels of destruction to said town in attempts to eliminate the pieces of MechaGodzilla. Again, if they had watched the movie, they would have known this.

"American Godzilla doesn't stand for anything" is some of the finest bullshit I've heard. Not to mention that they make this claim and back it with absolutely nothing at all. If you watch these movie, especially the 2014 one, Godzilla in these movies is supposed to represent the balance of nature. That is why, in the 2014, Godzilla's one goal is the eliminate the MUTOs and their eggs as that would throw the natural balance off. This is even said and shown in the movie that it really baffles me that they missed this point and didn't provide any evidence to their own point. There's even the message of humanity messing the balance of nature too. Using the oxygen destroyed in King of the Monsters harms and interferes with Godzilla restoring balance while it doesn't affect Gidorah one bit.

We also get this part where they tried to compare 2014 Godzilla to 1954 Godzilla, which I don't think works at they are two different movies with different messages and thus, can't be compared. Plus, after all of this, the person says that they see Godzilla as man vs nature and that the 2014 movie is the best American version of Godzilla. But, after that they go back to saying that American Godzilla is nothing more than a Superman figure, which is safe and boring, and goes against the origins of the character. Again, they don't provide any evidence for their claims at all. What do you mean by safe? What is so wrong with it going against the origins of the character? No, no evidence or explanation, just move on to the next point. Something else that this person seems to purposefully ignore is that Japan made Godzilla more of a hero figure before America did and they again say that the 2014 movie made Godzilla an Americanized hero without anything to support this claim, again.

Now, one part that I really don't like about this video is where they lead in with what is art and basically thing whole thing of art vs entertainment which is something that has always bothered me because people seem to think that these things have to be separate. That art can't be entertainment and vice versa and I think that's an incredibly limited way to think of things. Anyway, they talk about how the 1954 movie got stripped of its message and turned into Godzilla: King of the Monster over in America, which turned said original movie into more of a blockbuster. Here's the thing though. This person, again, fails to provide any evidence as to why they think this is bad, they just say that it happened and that's it. This leads into, again, them saying that the 2014 movie is a movie that doesn't have anything to say without providing any substantial evidence...AGAIN.

This leads into some more of the finest bullshit in the video. They go into this thing about how the US Military will throw money at movies and video games that portray the US Military in a good way and yes, this is true. Now, in this part they say that Godzilla 2014 had an AGREEMENT with the American military, who provided locations and vehicles etc. but that the movie doesn't provide any criticism on the American military. Let me ask you this, why does it NEED to do that? It does show them as ultimately powerless against these larger than life monsters, why does the movies have to have some kind of criticism on the American military? Plus, a character in the movie does provide what you could say is a criticism which is about the arrogance of man assuming they're in control of nature which it's the other way around. Yes, a character literally says this! Maybe it's not direct but it's there and is said directly.

"To be critical of the US Government requires you to be independent". What in the bullshit world of bullshit takes even is this sentence? This person is essentially trying to equate the lack of criticism towards the American military that would lead to the 2014 losing out on a majority of its funding as the overall reason as to why Godzilla doesn't work in America. Yes, you did read that right. Plus, again, they make this claim without any sort of evidence or anything to back it up. They also basically say a take about the 2014 movie being propaganda...yes! they also DID'T provide any evidence for that claim either! Just because they got locations, vehicles and personal from the US Military doesn't make it propaganda. They don't show the US in any way that is good or bad and they don't promote any political party either thus, not propaganda.

They also make a claim where they say that the 1966 King of the Monsters movie is a blockbuster with nothing to say, that it made more money than the original 1954 movie because of this and that, because of this, Japan also took to calling him Godzilla. This is 100% false as Japan still calls him Gojira to this very day and Godzilla is just a translation of that. You also have to consider the post war economy of the US and Japan and you will see why King Of The Monsters made more money.

"If there's anything I can hope to get across in this video, it's to research the things you watch". Let's consider for a moment that a lot of this video is this person make wild claims without any evidence to support them, which is what happens in the video, you can how absolutely fucking stupid this statement is to end on. They clearly did not do ANY research for this video.

Now, the last thing I want to touch on is the amount of irrelevant bullshit is in this video. They go on a tangent about taking a film class where the teacher just put on YouTube videos...like what does this have to do with anything. There's a tangent where they go into to some WWII history and a shortened version of the creation of Toho Studios which could have been even shorter to actual stay in line with their point. I also can't forget about the tangent about Disney doing everything they can to keep their properties from falling into public domain. I honestly don't think the "boat rat drives boat" thing is entirely accurate but that doesn't matter. This video is bloated with pointless bullshit that you could cut a lot from the video but, that still wouldn't save it. This person clearly knows nothing about Godzilla and shouldn't have made this bullshit video to begin with.

[kosmicpowers]

Hi, Hey there!

I've had this blog up for a few weeks so I figured I'd introduce myself. Not gonna reveal my actual name for security reasons but just call me Kosmic.

I currently live in the USA (Unfortunately). I'm genderfluid and really don't care what pronouns I am referred to with as long as they're not it/it's. I'm also an aspiring writer but for now I mostly just write fanfiction. Mostly Saint Seiya related obviously though I've been working on other stuff.

You can find my AO3 account here:

I've also been working on art but I'm still a beginner.

I try to be a nice person. (Though I'm not sure if I'm good at it because I can't stop swearing.) I don't accept racism, ableism, bullying, kin exclusionists or gatekeeping, misogyny, homophobia or anything anti-lgbt...

Yeah, Just don't be a dick. It's not hard.

Also don't be a sicko, no pedophila or zoophilia.

Some other stuff about me in case you care:

I'm a minor, don't be a creep.

I have ADHD, tend to hyperfixate on weird stuff. Then again a lot of people on this website do. Just saying I'm not one to judge people when I think about my interests.

I'm agnostic but I'm not going to crap on anyone for having a religion, as long as you're not a Jehovah's Witness. Screw those abusive idiots.

My hobbies are reading, writing, drawing, playing retro games, creating OCs, watching documentaries, and staying up at three AM regretting all of my life's choices

My favorite shows are: Saint Seiya (1986), Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, Ronin Warriors, Ranma 1/2, My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, Astro Boy, Jetter Mars, Sonic Prime, Sonic X, Beastars, Thundercats (both 1986 and 2011), Futurama, Kimba the White Lion, Cowboy Bebop, To Kai Watch, Captain Scarlet, Black Jack, Samurai Jack, Ampanman, The Amazing World of Gumball, Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, Danger Mouse, Kamen Rider, Super Sentai (AKA Power Rangers)

My favorite movies: the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, AKIRA, the Barbie movie (don't judge), Godzilla, Plague Dogs, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Saint Seiya: Legend of the Crimson Youth, Chirin's Bell, The amazing Spider-Man, Toy Story 3, The Iron Giant, Into the Spiderverse, also as of now gotta add the FNAF movie

Favorite video games: Sonic the Hedgehog series, Phantasy Star 4, Columns, Panel De Pon, Mega Man, PulseMan, Mario Kart 8, Pokemon: Legends Arceus, Animal Crossing, Earthbound, Poyo Poyo/Mean Bean Machine, Sin and Punishment, Harvest Moon, Star Fox

Favorite Bands/Musical Artists: Jack Stauber, Daft Punk, Lemon Demon, Caravan Palace, Tally Hall, Miura Ayme, Rammstein, The Living Tombstone, Rare Americans, Nirvana, Rammstein, Witchfinder General, Gorillaz

Favorite books: The Golden Compass, The Most Dangerous Game, Magnus Chase, Heros of Olympus (or basically anything by Rick Riordan), Death Note, Beastars (manga), Inuyasha, The Lovely Bones (I fucking cried so hard), MAUS (Made me cry harder), City of Ember, Journey to the West, Most classic creepypastas mainly "Abandoned by Disney" (YES. I know they're not books), Cells at Work, AKIRA (Manga)

So... Um... Yeah.

I like to talk with people about my interests so don't be afraid to give me a message. (As long as it doesn't promise "hot singles" in my area, I'm not that stupid.)

Updates:

I have a discord under the name robotic carnival and a side blog Tezuka Brainrot.

I am fictokin of: Cobalt from Astro Boy mainly.

Partially:

Mars from Jetter Mars.

Jibanyan from Yo Kai Watch

Rika from Phantasy Star.

Akane Tendo and Ryoga Hibbikki from Ranma 1/2

Cygnus Hyoga, Pegasus Seiya, and Aquarius Camus from Saint Seiya.

And the flag on my profile picture is ADHD flag.

Cringe and proud. ♥️

My husbandos are Doctor Yamanoue and Doctor Kawashimo from Jetter Mars, Phoenix Ikki from Saint Seiya, James/Kojiro from Pokemon, and Rune from Phantasy Star.

I can't beat Zio PLZ someone tell me how.

I am pro Palestine and I will accept no support of genocide.

I am neutral on the Joe Hawley situation as he has done terrible things yet does not deserve to be hacked or harassed.

Also ship discourse and fanfiction censorship discourse is dumb I don't care anymore. And regret my past actions. Don't harass over stuff you don't like but also tag your shit. You can't complain about people judging you if you are irresponsible about keeping it where it belongs.

[eolewyn1010]

Farewell, Darkover - part 9

The next section was really grating to read, as that's not only where MZB's arrogance really goes off the charts; it's also where she proves to be a real twat about the topics she's been praised for writing about. Buckle in for all the glory of her representation of strong feminist characters, homosexuals, and intersex people! ...ow.

First, there's more about individual Darkover books and a dispute she had with German translators. She casually name-drops her second husband who was just such an important partner to her - excuse me, there's the taste of bile again. Don't tell me how loving and supportive your fucking NAMBLA husband was. Onward to hard times in the magazine editing business... bitch?

"if this was the level of the competition, why was I worrying?"

Could you be any snootier?

"I resolved to try a female protagonist."

Woooow, now that's a novelty. I hate people who think they have invented fire or something. And it gets better:

"[...] Allira, the eldest, raped, and summarily married off to a bandit chief. Allira turned out to be a washout as a heroine. Try as I might to infuse her with heroic spirit, all she did was cry"

For one: That's your character. If you failed to make her a heroine you found compelling, that's really on you. And then. I find it rich enough from someone who was afaik a rape victim herself, but a rapist? Calling a traumatized rape victim who curls up to cry (a character MZB herself created, to boot) a whiny, "jelly-spined" washout? That's, uh. Sure something. Reminds me a lot of how MZB, who had her own abused children around, wrote Morgaine in MoA having very clear symptoms of PTSD and depression after being violated - and constantly waved her obvious poor emotional well-being off as not a big deal and something she really should just get over. ...Turn up the hellfire, guys.

Next is about meeting some of her fans; she refers to one "young girl" whom she still knows by name, creeping me out thoroughly. As she goes on about the ghost winds of Darkover, the creeps get worse; this worldbuilding element was one of her favorite excuses for "everyone falls into a frenzied orgy drugged beyond consent". Onward.

"Most of my readers give me credit for being far more profound than I am. I'm not profound; I simply let the reader figure out what is terrifying to him and visualize that in the blank spaces I leave in my book."

Not only are you not profound; this also testifies to your lack of creativity. "Let the audience fill in the blanks!" - how about you don't leave blanks? Hell, the entire Avalonian religion in MoA is nothing but a big blank. She sneers, in her brilliance, at the final scene of The Dunwich Horror, as describing Wilbur Whately's inhuman features destroyed the horror of it all because...

"I am not horrified, personally, by physiological abnormalities."

ExcusoWHAT? How does that fit with your rampant ableism?? Show me one single physically disabled or disfigured character of MZB's that isn't portrayed in a negative / contemptuous light! Next she dumps on the Lord of the Rings movie of her time and Japanese kaiju horror for the same reasons. I am supremely ignorant in these fields, although I heard that at least the original Godzilla did indeed play with the concept of the unseen horror because he was an embodiment of the terror of nuclear weapons, so shows Bradley's level of knowing-what-the-fuck-she's-talking-about.

"I felt that I hadn't read anything in science fiction that really excited and delighted me, not for ages; not since Stranger in a Strange Land."

Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. Stranger in a Strange Land is the main reason (albeit not the only one) why I have such a low opinion of Heinlein's writing. There's an Übermensch race superseding humanity, no concept of consent, all the homophobia, sexism and racism, Heinlein going on a long tract about the benefits of cannibalism - it's skeevy, is what it is. Call me a tasteless boor for it all you want.

After telling us "that chapter in my life was ended" (meaning writing Darkover), she... keeps blathering on for a while, about other books. Isn't this titled "A Darkover Retrospective"? Finally: chieri, and her inspirations for those.

"Nowhere in Tolkien does it speak of the elves as ambiguously sexed; I don't know where I picked up that idea, perhaps from one of the Theodore Sturgeon stories in which he explored the notion of legendary people who could appear as men to a woman, or as women to a man."

I played with that, too, regarding a Faerie creature - only they don't appear necessarily as the opposite gender of whom they encounter, but as the sexually preferred gender of said person. Meaning, yeah, my Fae is still a hot dude for my gay protagonist (and looks very similar to his ex, too, because Fae are assholes). But figures that she'd think of a hetero norm only. This is our gay literature pioneer?

Anyway, chieri are basically her Darkovan Fae, and with MoA establishing MZB's self-insert being a direct descendant of Faeries, I can only imagine that her Fae and chieri are the sort of naturally Superior(TM) Übermensch she'd love to imagine herself to be. Well, as I said, Fae are assholes, so if the shoe fits. No, I shall not interpret any of her writings in good faith.

"I decided that the sexual element in such a story [about aliens capable of switching sexes] would make it difficult to handle at all, with the kind of taboos operating in science fiction at the time."

I know which kind of societal taboos around sexuality you would have liked to have loosened. Get away from my queer community and my Sci-Fi genre, you sick fuck. Couple paragraphs later, she even mentions how her husband, the other sick fuck, encouraged her to write about the chieri, specifically the explicit sex scene in The World Wreckers. Pervy enough for his tastes, was it? Again, feels more like fetish service than decent intersex rep. Specifically, fetish service to herself. And I wish she would stop telling me about her harmonious marriage and happy home life. It makes me retch. She promised her editor that there would be "no four-letter vulgarisms" in the chieri sex scene, and that just makes me laugh. Child molestation all over the place, but she's too well-mannered to write "cock"? Well, suck it, Bradley. No, wait, she doesn't know what oral sex is. I shall write my next smut very spitefully.

"[Prior to Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness, h]omosexuality had always been a major taboo in science fiction."

Uhm. Has it? Sci-Fi up to a more recent time tended to breeze over sexual themes in general. Well, she mentions Sturgeon, but she doesn't mention Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland, Virginia Woolf's Orlando, Poul Anderson, Brian Aldiss, David Gerrold. Anyway, I'm not sure why this applies to the Keral-David sex scene at all, because that only took place after Keral, the chieri, was very graphically described as having a female body to the last detail, plus emphasis on his capabilty to get pregnant. Now, I know that there are men in the world to whom this applies. But I doubt that Bradley with her gender essentialism and Sacred Biological Maternity fetish was thinking of trans people when writing the chieri, so how does this pass for homosexuality?

"because I was the first person to attack this problem straight on, I became known as highly sympathetic; in fact, for a time, I managed to become something like science fiction's token homosexual! I had no particular aversion for this position; but I am sure that it encouraged many other writers to stop being afraid of the subject"

1st, no, you were not the first. 2nd, what with you self-identifying as a lesbian, your propensity to represent heterosexual relationships as naturally superior and the only sacred-by-universe-and-nature outcome in your writings either speaks of a severe self-loathing or of your time and age not knowing the term bisexuality. 3rd, yes, unfortunately, you were an inspiration to many. I wonder how many of them are seething at the memory as I am today. I wonder how many of them are rotating in their graves.

She did not, in fact, quit writing Darkover after that. Guess the ego-stroking was too nice to forfeit. Then it's on about how, ha-ha, her editor was wrong about the ideas he turned down, because they sold well later on, so there! ...Stephenie Meyer, is that you? More stories on individual books, her lofty stance on how every woman in Darkover Landfall absolutely had to spread her legs for the procreation of humanity, free will be damned, "Biology is Destiny" and how she thinks feminists can shove it if they don't agree with this (I hate her). Then she defends fucking Heritage of Hastur. And guess what:

"no one was upset by the picture of male homosexuals in Heritage, with a rather curious exception. I received a few nasty letters from confessed homosexuals in the Gay Activist movement, accusing me of prejudice because I, professing to be sympathetic toward homosexuality, had perpetrated the stereotype of the homosexual as brutal sadist, preying on young boys."

Yup. There were people back then who read Dyan Ardais for the gross predator that he was. And she found it curious and nasty that gay men wouldn't be happy about that rep. Here's a hint, Bradley: HOMOSEXUALITY. IS NOT. PEDOPHILIA! GAY MEN. AREN'T. LIKE. WALTER BREEN! Your husband was a freaking pervert, but the apologia isn't anything new; we know you joined right in there.

"I regard Dyan Ardais, not as evil, but as unhappy, a man desperately at the mercy of his own misery and his own obsessions; and Dyan's tragedy, I have always felt, was that he did not come to know Regis well until he had destroyed himself irrevocably in the younger man's eyes."

. . .

Yeah, no. NO. Do not go there. Do not tell me about what a tragic character fucking Dyan Ardais is and how sad I should feel that he had fallen from grace in the eyes of his victims, you utter piece of shit. All I hear is you defending your husband and yourself. I hope either of you died painfully.

I have to set a cut again. And yell at a wall for a while. Seeya.

[talenlee]

Decemberween 2024 — The Positronic Collection

I am a firm believer in trying to ensure there’s variety in what you spend leisure time with. Left to my own devices I would rewatch Gravity Falls about once a month, and the Story Pile would spend much of its time trying to find as many ways as possible to reference Ranma 1/2 as though that was a universal touchstone for everyone. I think that if you can, making sure you watch or engage with something that you wouldn’t think of obviously at first, and in the process learn more about what you like, even if what you tried wound up not being to your tastes.

At the end of 2023, I approached my friend, Rachel Positronicwoman, and asked her what she’d hand me if I went with her to her local video rental store (the Scarecrow which looks like it rules), and asked for a movie for each month of the year. I got a list, in return, and that list formed twelve of the fifty-twoish Story Pile articles of 2024. I wish to present then here, my Book Report about this twelve movie anthology, the Positronic Collection.

First of all, the twelves movies that made up The Positronic Collection 2024:

Godzilla V Megalon

DEBS

Christine

You Were Never Really There

Ronin

Bound

Phantom of the Paradise

F For Fake

Manhunter

Wake in Fright

Big Trouble In Little China

Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence

Now, these movies were selected, to some extent, somewhat randomly, then sorted to hit particular themes of the months on the blog — romantic media, Talen-coded media, queer media, media about lies, horror media, and holidays-themed media, in each even month. The remaining six movies were arranged without necessarily a clear vision of how to engage with them.

I did watch them in order, and I spaced them out across the twelve months. I didn’t have to — I could have chaingunned them all in one week and written the articles then set those up to schedule for the rest of the year. Instead, I deliberately spaced these videos out, watching them maybe one or two months ahead. I also only talked to Rachel about these articles after I had my notes about the movie made, and I tried to minimise chatting with her about them until some of the thoughts were committed. Not because Rachel isn’t great to talk to or anything but because I wanted to avoid just parroting her opinions on things. This turned out to be an irrelevant concern, because she was much more interested in hearing what I thought, and mostly provided novel input on things I didn’t know about the making or production of these movies. These facts didn’t really show up in the articles even when it definitely stood out to me, like how the painted-over logos in Phantom of the Paradise made that movie look really weirdly bootleg.

To speak to the common threads in the movies, there are some things that are mostly true. For example, they’re mostly English-language films, which makes sense since that’s the language I speak, but they’re not all English-language films. They’re mostly dramas, but DEBS, Big Trouble In Little China , and Godzilla vs Megalon are all closer to action comedies, Christine is a special effects horror story, and F For Fake is a documentary. Many of them are about heightened realities, about ‘unrealistic’ or ‘fantastic’ stories — but Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, Manhunter, Wake in Fright, Ronin and You Were Never Really Here are all grounded stories that try to limit themselves to worlds without the truly fantastic. Most of them are centered on men, but DEBS and Bound aren’t.

What does exist in all of these movies is a central theme of people struggling with identity.

In Godzilla vs Megalon there’s an entire chunk of the movie’s narrative missing because of a missing identity. The story the movie told has a gap in it so broad that the main characters of the story don’t get names (because they are not important, Godzilla is). In DEBS the romance of the story is about characters with designated identities, a hero and a villain, and then struggling with what those identities are meant to do. In Christine, the protagonist degenerates over the whole movie while his identity is swallowed up by the idea of being the owner of this car. Both Bound and You Were Never Really Here are movies about extensive dissociative experiences, Ronin is about characters who have had to lose their very identity as the culture disappeared. Manhunter takes famous characters we’re familiar with for a different reason, and restructures the same events in their lives to construct different identities, that are themselves arguing about the person they get to be. Wake in Fright concludes with another dissociative episode, and Big Trouble In Little China is a movie about a character who doesn’t understand the place his identity has in its story because of the signifiers of that identity. Ironically, this is the same reason why someone struggles with the identity of their romantic interest in Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence.

It’s because in both cases, he’s a white guy.

I know for a fact this isn’t intended. I’ve brought it up talking to Rachel throughout the year, that the movies she’s given me to watch feature these recurrent challenges of who are you, really? And remember, this isn’t a thing that can be used, author-death-wise, to tea-leaf interpret a reality of the creator of the collection. I can’t tell you something about Rachel because of these twelve movies put together. I can tell you what I learned about what Rachel likes or thinks of when she thinks of me in these cases.

I assume this is a reasonably random sample. I don’t think these movies were picked to make a point. I think that means anything in this is something reasonably representative, and that’s why there are some goofy movies and some serious intense movies and some Criterion Collection movies and some classics and some Less Popular works by well-known creators. They are all live action – but that doesn’t mean live action is the only thing she watches. But this question of identity and dissociation? That does strike me as something she finds interesting and engaging, based on how it shows up in this collection.

This experience was lovely. Right now a lot of you are starting blogs, and that brings with it a question of ‘well now what?’

Ask a friend.

Get some movies.

Make a book club of it.

You might find some new favourites, and you might learn something fascinating about your friends!

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[poppunkpie]

Hi there!

This is a complete shot in the dark, but my name is Ethan Willard, I was in Marietta (co-singer guy). I have a podcast called Commando Prompt, which is a show where we watch and review action movies. We are currently looking for new cover art for the podcast, and Evan (other co-singer guy from Marietta) told me about some of the art you made for Marietta lyrics, so here I am! Your art is so good, holy crap!

Would you be interested in coming up with cover art for Commando Prompt? The direction my co-host and I are thinking is emblematic of older Godzilla movie covers, mixed with the sort of retro-futuristic vibes from the Fallout series.

If interested, let me know and we can talk more!

Our email address is commandopromptpod@gmail.com or we can talk on Twitter/Instagram.

oh dude i would definitely be down to make some art for the podcast! i'll send you a message on instagram so you can give me more details + visual pegs/references re: how you want the art to look like :D (my ig username is: pietiau)

also uh i just want to say: listening to marietta got me through a lot. there's some kind of reassurance you get from realizing someone else has felt the way you do— especially when they put it in a way so painstakingly accurate to /how exactly/ you feel it. listening to marietta feels a lot like listening to what i used to never allow myself to say or feel and it made me feel less alone than i'd convinced myself i was.

anyway,,, i'd be yapping if i go on any longer lol basically i'm just really glad i found marietta!

thank you for reaching out and i'm really really glad you guys dig my art :D

[ajibooks]

Oscars 2024 thoughts p2. Sharing some thoughts now while the Best Picture nominees are fresh in my mind.

Yesterday: The Holdovers. Today: Poor Things (I avoided major spoilers).

Poor Things

If this movie wins in any major category, I'll be unpleasantly surprised. Barbie definitely has its issues, but for white feminism movies, I like Barbie much better.

This is an entertaining horror comedy based on a sci-fi concept, with a lot of sex.

The high concept of the movie makes me think less of it. I might've loved it if it was called, like, "Bella's Story," and meant to be a story about these characters with potentially universal themes. Instead, it's meant to be about universal themes, with these characters acting out Human Experiences (definitely in capital letters).

I especially don't feel great about "woman experiences the world through having tons of sex" as a story that's meant to have some kind of universality. Everyman characters have a wide breadth of experiences; everywoman characters have a wide breadth of sexual experiences. This is simplistic, but it's my strongest opinion about this film. (NB: I am not that smart.)

As with The Holdovers, though, I did truly enjoy the experience of watching this movie. It is G-R-O-S-S (complimentary) but also has a lot of beauty (pure costume porn; actual porn).

Other than this, I've only see The Lobster by Yorgos Lanthimos, and that's a much more interesting movie (note: major animal harm warning for that one). This one is funny, but I found The Lobster funnier. Both movies have a lot of emotional resonance.

It is kind of cool that such a strange director and movie got major Oscar attention, I guess. But why did that happen, despite this being a genre movie? I liked Nope (2022) and Godzilla Minus One (2023) much better. If the Oscars can recognize this one, why not those?

Like in The Holdovers, the older man in this movie (Godwin, Willem Dafoe's character) reveals his many health issues one by one as a running gag. I still don't like this as a joke, but it fits better here than in The Holdovers. Also, some of Godwin's issues are bizarre fantasy problems that are played for laughs/disgust. When it's revealed he has a real-world problem, the fact that there was this running gag about his health made the reveal much more disturbing. I liked this.

I would need to watch this again for all the "God" jokes to land for me, and although this joke goes into the universality theme that I'm not a huge fan of here, I did like it as a running gag.

Emma Stone's performance is the type that wins Oscars; the movie is about her learning how to be human. But I really, really hope Lily Gladstone (KotFM), who played an ordinary human with so much subtlety and power, wins Best Actress.

It is super weird to me that Mark Ruffalo got nominated for this. He was decent in the role, but still, why? His accent was awkward, too.

Very atmospheric and immersive, but unlike The Holdovers, being immersed in this atmosphere was mostly pretty unpleasant. I mean that as a compliment to both films.

Weirdo sidenote (that I want to mention to my friends when we talk about this movie): the brothel in Poor Things reminded me so much of the Paris house in Babe 2: Pig in the City 😄 Maybe it was a deliberate reference (I don't really think that, but it's very funny to imagine).

I really liked the very ending of the movie. It was the most over-the-top Yorgos Lanthimos thing that happened, I think.

[theputterer]

Good Things In 2021

“It’s that time of year again! Time to remember all the good things that happened in 2021. I’ve done this since 2017, and highly recommend doing this as a fun way to reflect (and to have something for future reference when you are feeling Down.)

y’all. we did it.

I don’t really know how to talk about this year. in many ways it was better than 2020, but in many other ways it was not. This month has been very difficult for my family and me. (If you are curious you can read about what happened here).

But this is about looking at the good things that happened this year.

PERSONAL

I finally received my Irish passport!!! This was the last step of my journey in receiving Irish citizenship and was very exciting. 

I’ve been applying to jobs in Dublin and seen some success. I did receive a job offer I ended up turning down for several reasons, including the pay, what happened earlier this month with my family, and the timeline.

I have an interview for a different job next week I am interested in, so we’ll see how that goes!

I updated my resumé for the first time in three years, that deserves notice.

I returned to the ROGUE ONE life (BRIEFLY) and wrote a new fic called death trembles to take us, a ROGUE ONE-THE OLD GUARD fusion/AU.

a new friend on this here app, @riflegoespurr made a moodboard for it!

and special thanks to @kestrelsward for the early enthusiasm!

I am reasonably pleased with how the fic turned out.

I got a new idea for a secret original writing project that I began some tentative work on. It will remain secret for now.

I had some solid success at work, achieving a few goals I had set and improving systems for the organization. Much of this info will remain REDACTED for privacy purposes but if we are Insta friends you know. (Side note but message me if you wanna be insta friends).

I visited a city in Idaho for Work Purposes and it was nuts. They don’t believe in COVID. scenes.

In May, I went to the ocean on a small solo trip and it was very nice.

I got a couple new tattoos there! Color tattoos of lavender and hydrangea to go on my arm.

A friend of mine got married in July and I got to see it AND act as casual bartender which is hilarious because I rarely drink.

I got jabbed and boosted. Please do this when you can.

Anything bolded below is something I particularly enjoyed and recommend. 

MOVIES

2021 movies I saw and liked:

HOUSE OF GUCCI

I fucking loved this. it’s a riot. Ridley Scott can do whatever he wants forever.

BEING THE RICARDOS

BLACK WIDOW

PASSING

THE HARDER THEY FALL

DUNE

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS

FOUR SEASONS TOTAL DOCUMENTARY

LAST NIGHT IN SOHO

MALIGNANT

10/10 NO NOTES

REMINISCENCE

NO TIME TO DIE

“I miss you” RIP ME

GODZILLA VS. KONG

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME

2020 movies I saw for the first time:

TENET

SHIRLEY

WONDER WOMAN 1984

EMMA.

TV

WANDAVISION

similarly, Leland Philpot on Twitter: “Agatha All Along Trap/Hip Hop Remix”

WESTWORLD

THE WHITE LOTUS

THE OTHER TWO

I’ve started EUPHORIA but I’m not far enough in to render judgment.

Season 15 of IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA

BOOKS

I read 64 books this year. Below are the ones I liked and/or had thoughts on:

“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V.E. Schwab

“The City We Became” by N.K. Jemisin

“Thirty-Two Words for Field: Lost Words of the Irish Landscape” by Manchán Magan

“Dearly” by Margaret Atwood

“Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath” by Heather Clark

This book is well over 1000 pages but it is brilliantly written and researched

“The Secret Place” by Tana French

“The End of Everything” by Katie Mack

“The Ten Thousand Doors of January” by Alix E. Harrow

“The Trespasser” by Tana French

“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison

“Black Sun” by Rebecca Roanhorse

“Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion” by Jia Tolentino

“The Witch Elm” by Tana French

“W-3″ by Bette Howland

“Girl A” by Abigail Dean

“The Witches Are Coming” by Lindy West

“How Long ‘Till Black Future Month?” by N.K. Jemisin

“Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler

“Republic of Shame: Stories from Ireland’s Institutions for ‘Fallen Women’“ by Caelainn Hogan

“The Killing Moon” by N.K. Jemisin

“Sin Eater” by Megan Campisi

“Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty” by Patrick Radden Keefe

RAGE RAGE RAGE

“Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee” by Casey Cep

“Mister Impossible” by Maggie Stiefvater

“His & Hers” by Alice Feeney

“Mirrorland” by Carole Johnstone

“The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig

“Tender Is The Flesh” by Agustina Bazterrica

This book is DEEPLY fucked up but wow.

“A Ghost In The Throat” by Doireann Ní Ghríofa

“The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett

“Caul Baby” by Morgan Jerkins

“The Only Good Indians” by Stephen Graham Jones

“Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family” by Robert Kolker

“Persephone Station” by Stina Leicht

“Folklorn” by Angela Mi Young Hur

EASILY one of my favorites of all time!!!

“The Angel of History” by Carolyn Forché

“The Maidens” by Alex Michaelides

I HATED this book. it’s so bad. it is on here because I have to say that.

“Sorrowland” by Rivers Solomon

“Hummingbird Salamander” by Jeff VanderMeer

“When The Sparrow Falls” by Neil Sharpson

this book rules

“2034: A Novel of the Next World War” by Elliot Ackerman

“The Living Sea of Waking Dreams” by Richard Flanagan

“What Comes After” by JoAnne Tompkins

“The Shadowed Sun” by N.K. Jemisin

With this book, I have officially read every novel or short story in N.K. Jemisin’s published bibliography

“The Last Mona Lisa” by Jonathan Santlofer

“Something New Under the Sun” by Alexandra Kleeman

my very rare Did Not Finish. if you did please talk to me.

“The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine” by Janice Nimura

THE BONE SEASON by Samantha Shannon

“The Bone Season”

“The Pale Dreamer”

“The Mime Order”

“The Song Rising”

“The Mask Falling”

LITERALLY WHERE HAVE THESE BOOKS BEEN ALL MY LIFE!!!!! PLEASE READ THEM AND COME TALK TO ME

“Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights” by Katha Pollitt

“Shadow and Bone” by Leigh Bardugo

“Constance” by Matthew FitzSimmons

“Goldilocks” by Laura Lam

“Sabriel” by Garth Nix

“The Fourth Island” by Sarah Tolmie

“Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro

“Slaughter-House Five” by Ryan North (graphic novel adaptation!)

“My Heart Is A Chainsaw” by Stephen Graham Jones

MUSIC

Halsey, If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power

Lorde, Solar Power

Olivia Rodrigo, Sour

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, Love For Sale

ABBA, Voyage

OTHER GOOD THINGS

Walter Chaw, for Film Freak Central, a review of “No Time To Die” that I found very moving

Joc Pedersen and Harry Styles: Bad Bitches

Steve Buscemi Won Halloween

Bret Stetka for NPR: “How Playing Tetris Tames the Trauma of a Car Crash” 

brains are so fucking weird yo

The Orioles coming in clutch for the Mariners

Dan Odess for The New York Times: “Ancient Human Footprints Push Back Date of Human Arrival In the Americas”

This video of Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain

The saga of the fake high school that played a real game on ESPN

This thread from a man describing what it is like to be in the modern dating game to a new divorcé

I was on the FLOOR

Reeves Wiedeman and Lila Shapiro for New York Magazine: “The Spine Collector”, about a mysterious figure asking for copies of unpublished manuscripts FOR NO APPARENT REASON.

Trea Turner’s magnificent slide home.

Jennifer Senior for The Atlantic: “What 9/11 Did to One Family”. a really devastating, beautiful piece on complicated grief.

Anna Russell, for The New Yorker: “The Beguiling Legacy of ‘Alice in Wonderland’”

Shohei Ohtani’s massive homer. i have never before seen a ball hit the fourth level that far out at Safeco Field.

Dorian Rolston for The New Yorker: “The Trip That Doesn’t End”

Casey Cep for The New Yorker: “Noticing the Mothers of the Old Testament”

Margaret Talbott, for The New Yorker: “The Women Who Want to Be Priests”.

as someone who was raised Catholic and identifies as feminist, this piece was very interesting and illuminating!

Franz Lidz for The New York Times: “She Fell Nearly Two Miles and Walked Away”

This tweet from Mark Harris that still makes me cackle

Ayesha A. Siddiqi, “Sorry for your loss”

Angelica Jade Bastién’s “The Feminine Grotesque” genre list of LetterBoxd. one day I will see them all.

This bonkers play by Javy Báez.

Grown Man Drinks Kool-Aid.

Nora McGreevy for Smithsonian Magazine: “Graves of Enslaved People Discovered on Founding Father’s Delaware Plantation”. (the founding father is John Dickinson).

This guy’s experience getting the vaccine that made me LOLLLL

Simon Levien for The Harvard Crimson: “The Crimson Klan”. Harvard reckoning with its white supremacist ties.

Patrick Freyne, for The Irish Times, eviscerating the British Monarchy via Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah

Philippe Sands, for The New Yorker: “Reckoning With a Nazi Father”. the denial and hard legacy for a family with Nazi relatives.

John Matthias, for The New Yorker: “Living With a Visionary”. 

“When I ask her if she is awake, she says she does not know.”

Katie Dowd, for SFGATE: “The story of ‘Drake’s plate’, the biggest hoax in California history”. a romp.

Jen Chaney for Vulture: “No, They Weren’t Dead the Whole Time.” an oral history of the LOST finale that I kind of think was written FOR ME

Kaylyn Hlavaty for Cleveland News 5: “Her ancestors forgotten, a mantel from a slaveholder’s home bears witness to their lives”. a really devastating reminder of how hard it is for Black people to find their ancestors.

et voila. Happy New Year. let’s be kind to each other.

(Raymond Chandler)

go forth and share your good news and be sure to tag me!

c.c. @leaiorganas @fortysevenswrites @magalis @callioope @cassianserso @i-am-slain @riflegoespurr @alecjmarsh @alittlemomentum @earnestfeeling @jaylie12 @thenewyorkreload @moprocrastinates @andorjyny @the-dala​ @sleeplessant​ and anyone else who wants to share!!!

[marquisegallery]

OKAY so!! I made these as a sort of promo for my Pokemon Design Challenge! Basically just picked some of the prompts I made, and drew some designs for them. :>

Below the cut I’ll just copy-paste the info about these that I already talked about on dA. Please feel free to reblog this if you like these!

-----

On Sparoxin: So here's the first design, based on the "Pika-clone" trope: Sparoxin, an Electric/Poison Pokemon known for having a venomous bite! Hence the species name of course. And the name itself is just a straightforward combo of spark and toxin. Mainly because I couldn't think of anything better, lol... This was inspired by solenodons, which are a type of small mammal that are related to hedgehogs and shrews, and they do indeed have venom in real life! Though it's not quite like a snake's venom, instead it's more that their saliva acts like a venom. Good enough!

-----

On Crosadon: This is for the “classic monster” shape challenge, so basically designing a kaiju-esque/Godzilla-esque Pokemon. In this case, my inspiration for this was Biollante in particular, my favorite of the Godzilla monsters!!   The name is also a bit more clever than Sparoxin was imo, it's croc + rosa/rose + -don, a suffix used for dinosaurs (like iguanodon!) and some other kaiju-ish Pokemon too (Rhydon and Duraludon come to mind in particular).

-----

On Noxie: This one! This one is probably one of my top favs of the batch of Fakemon I made. ;u;

The name itself is a combo of noxious + pixie, and I picked "virulent" as the species name because the word can describe a disease or poison that's really harmful, and it can also just mean something or someone that's hostile! That describes Noxie, basically a very dangerous Mew-esque/Mythical Fairy Pokemon that spreads disease and poison for its own amusement.

I even designed it to be a bit of a mirror of Mew! Big arms and tiny legs instead of the other way around, a distinct head shape, and three tails instead of just one. Suffice to say I am super pleased with how Noxie turned out, and now I kinda want to keep it for some non-Pokemon ideas, maybe.

-----

On the clown Pokemon line: Another piece for my own Pokemon Design challenge, this time for making a Pokemon for an unused type! In this case Fairy and Fighting, which admittedly I'm surprised hasn't been done yet. Watch, with the new Scarlet and Violet coming out soon, there's probably gonna be one in that game, lol These little buddies are based on clowns, obviously! I really would love to see a non-Legendary/non-Ultra Beast clown Pokemon. The Mr. Mime like is close but not quite perfect for me, and Blacephalon is friggin' awesome, but I think I'd like a clown Pokemon that was more readily available for most players. Jestimp is jester + imp, Pierlin is Pierrot + gremlin/goblin, and Harlepunch is harlequin + punch (which can of course mean physical punching, but also a reference to the character Punch from Punch and Judy). I love how I managed the progressing of appearance in this line, turned out so well!   Admittedly Jestimp and Harlepunch were based off previous Pokemon designs I had on an old account. So I guess it's kind of cheating to use it again for this, but I hope no one minds. :u

-----

On the fossil Pokemon: This was for designing new fossil Pokemon! One based on parasaurolophus, and the other based on stegosaurus. The color scheme for this is probably kinda gaudy? But I was inspired by some of those old (and usually inaccurate, lol) dinosaur toys that would have the dinos in a bunch of different wild colors.   So we got Paraling (parasaurolophus + duckling) and Parallard (parasaurolophus+ mallard). The reasoning for having their names based on ducks was mostly because of Ducky from the Land Before Time movies, lol. Though the duck influence ended up with me designing them to actually resemble ducks somewhat, at least having bills and webbed hands/feet. So they're kinda semi-aquatic without actually being water types! Also, they sing and used sound-based moves, mostly based on the fact that actual parasaurolophus are believed to make some fantastical sounds! If the games had a Sound type, they'd be that instead of Normal tbh.

And then we have Solsaur (sol + -saur ending from stegosaur), and Luxsaur (lux, Latin word for light, + -saur). This one was an idea I've had for a verrry long time, a stegosaurus Pokemon with the plates on its back acting as solar panels to help power electric attacks! I know there's already Helioptile/Heliolisk as solar-powered Electric Pokemon, but I still really like my idea of the plates being "more obvious" solar panels like this.

[addictedtostorytelling]

hi there, thanks as always for your willingness to dig into csi with these questions. i don't think you've talked overly about this, but forgive me if i missed it. what are your thoughts on grissom's dog? specifically in reference to the characterization of grissom - i get the spiders, but when/where/how did a dog come from/about? was he always a dog person? was he lonely? i know they don't really address it in the show but i am curious about what you think!!

hi, anon!

thank you for your kind words!

so the show tells us almost nothing about grissom's history with his dog hank specifically or his history with dogs in general.

while of course part of the reason why we never learn all that much about hank is due to the show's historic reluctance to give us much insight into the characters' home lives just in general, it also, in this case, is a product of how the character of hank originally came to be.

the thing is, hank wasn't so much "planned for" as he was just kind of a development that happened.

the writers didn't ever decide that they wanted to give grissom (and sara) a dog.

rather, billy so hated leaving his dog bruno home during his long shooting hours on the csi set that he asked the show's producers if they could cast bruno on the show as grissom's own dog, and they said yes.

it was kind of the equivalent of a pet cameo.

as a consequence of hank being a kind of extemporaneous creation, i don't think there was really all that much lore even in existence for him to start out with.

the writers had no better idea of his background within the universe of the show than we did; all they knew was that grissom (and sara) had a dog.

that so, when bruno made his first on-screen appearance in episode 07x22 “leapin' lizards”—where he sleeps on the bed while grissom and sara watch the godzilla movie and then follows grissom out the room when he goes to work on his miniature—his character's name was never stated* and no information was given about him. grissom and sara didn't even really explicitly refer to his presence in the scene in dialogue; the most acknowledgment there is of him is that grissom whistles for him to come with him when he makes his exit.

* originally, bruno was going to keep his own name for the show, but then one of the writers made a joke about a dog named hank, and so they ended up giving the character a new name later on in s8.

only later in s8, after the writers had had a chance to kind of catch up to the notion of "grissom-as-dog-owner," did we finally learn that bruno's character's name was hank and that hank was technically grissom's dog—or at least his dog to start out with—before he was ever sara's (see episodes 08x06 "who & what").

at that point, we also learned that while grissom and sara were working different shifts from each other, they alternated on dog care responsibilities.

shortly thereafter, when sara left town, we saw that hank remained in vegas with grissom (see the deleted scene from episode 08x12 "grissom's divine comedy").

then, in s9, after sara briefly returned to vegas and then left for the second time, grissom reported that hank had become listless and lost his appetite, mirroring his own depression (see episode 09x03 "art imitates life").

—and that's about the extent of the information that was ever revealed about csi's original goodest boy in the original show canon.

questions about when grissom first got hank, under what circumstances he did so, how and why hank ended up with the name hank—particularly in light of the fact that "hank" is also the name of sara's dickhead ex-boyfriend from s2/s3—at what point and under what circumstances hank also started being sara's dog, what became of hank after grissom and sara left vegas in s9, how hank fared during the "living abroad" period of their marriage and during the divorce, what hank's ultimate fate was, etc. were all left unanswered in the long run of the show.

of course, two pieces of new information in the mystery of hank have come out since the end of the original series: per reboot episode 01x03 "under the skin," 1) hank is by 2021 deceased (a not unexpected development, given that, unfortunately, dogs don't live forever), and b) hank is not the only dog grissom has ever owned though he is the best one.

however, how many other dogs grissom has had besides hank and at what points in his life he has had them remains unknown.

so.

that's about as far as the in-universe evidence can take us.

to extrapolate and headcanon a little:

in episode 01x22 "evaluation day," sara characterizes grissom as an animal lover (like she is), and while most of the animals she mentions him loving—tarantulas, maggots, komodo dragons, etc.—are more of the creepy-crawly variety than the fuzzy companionate kind, it honestly doesn't seem like that much of a leap to assume he has love for all creatures great and small in his heart, no matter what their species.

personally, i think grissom probably appreciates the straightforwardness of animals.

while people can at times aggravate and confuse, animals follow an internal sort of logic all of their own, and one need only to learn about and respect their behaviors and interact with them on their own terms in order to keep a good relationship with them.

plus, also unlike people, animals are incapable of "evil." even when they cause harm to other animals or to humans, there's never a moral component to their actions; they're always just responding to instinct and are, in this sense, "innocent."

that's a kind of thing that grissom can get behind.

that's something that would make sense to him.

so to my mind? grissom has likely always been very fond of animals and has probably kept a variety of pets over the course of his life.

i imagine him as the little boy who came home from playing in the gully with lizards and snakes in his pockets and beetles captured in jars—which betty then dutifully made him repatriate back to their natural habitats—and who was constantly spouting off facts about elephants and giraffes and sharks and echidnas that he'd learned about in the natural geographic.

i think he was also a boy with a dog, after that kind of quintessential 50s/60s "charlie brown & snoopy" mode.

whether his family had always had dogs when he was growing up, for simple companionship and/or to help accommodate betty—even dogs not specifically trained as service animals can be very useful in deaf households, alerting their owners to knocks at the door or disturbances on the property (like fire alarms, break-ins, etc.)—or his parents got him a dog specifically, i think that somehow, some way, little grissom was one of those kids whose dog was his best friend*.

* maybe his parents specifically got him the dog because they recognized that he was lonely—maybe in particular his mother got him a dog after his father died to help him cope with the loss.

while other kids made fun of and excluded him based on his interests and atypical social habits, his dog 100% accepted and loved him for who he was and was always up for digging for bugs in the backyard or following him while he rode around on his bike looking for animal carcasses to necropsy.

how many dogs grissom had as a kid is debatable, but i tend to think he probably had at least one or two in-between the time he was born and when he left for college and grew up very comfortable with dogs just in general.

unfortunately for him—as i think he would have probably liked things to be otherwise—having a dog just wasn't really on the table for him throughout most of his earlier adult years, between him being in college and attending graduate school and then working wild hours as a csi during the early days of his career.

only later, after he was more settled—and after he moved to vegas, where "24-hour doggy daycare" is actually a thing—did getting a dog of his own even become an option.

i've written out my headcanon for how grissom ends up getting hank in fic-form here, if you're interested.

suffice it to say, i think him adopting a puppy coincides with him trying to emotionally distance himself from sara during s4.

as for the name, i'm torn between thinking "hank" was just the name the puppy already came with (and grissom didn't remember that "hank" was also the name of sara's ex-boyfriend until it was too late and the name was already stuck) OR that grissom named hank after one of his personal heroes in hank aaron and/or hank williams.

or maybe it's kind of a "both" deal, where the puppy was already named hank, but grissom kept the name because he associated it with someone/something he liked.

as for the sara of it all, i think that while hank starts out as grissom's dog (and does still live with grissom at times when he and sara are separated), he very much ends up as her dog, as well, which is why in reboot episode 01x03 "under the skin," she claims him as the best dog she's ever had, too.

i've got another fic about grissom and sara's family life with hank here, if you're interested.

anyway, as you can probably tell by this answer, i'm a big fan of hank and of the idea of grissom (and sara) having a dog. even though it wasn't necessarily something the writers planned for, i think it's great characterization. it's definitely one of my favorite little csi things.

thanks for the question! please feel welcome to send another any time.

[heyitsyn]

Manager!Seijoh IWA ROUTE

a/n: uwuwuwuwuwu my mans iwa chan :’)

IM A SIMP FOR IWAIZUMI HAJIME (27) ATHLETE TRAINER

uwu filo!iwa in this :)

and also, listen to lauv while reading this since i wrote this and that song was playing on repeat O_O and also this song

this is my self-request uwu

HES SUCH A POUTY BABIE BLS LOVE ON HIM

onwards we goooo

hihihihihihi yey im so excited for this yall dont even know

ANYWAYS

so,,,,

when iwa first saw you, he thought you were just a cute little thing

your shorter height, your puffy cheeks, and the wide eyes you had whenever you saw someone, or him, do a really cool spiking move

he initially thought of you as a cute little sister hes never had

ehehe that finna change

then the,,,, bullying thing happened

if youd like to read this part, its right here

when he saw you bloodied, all battered,

dear lordie he was finna break some ankles

ONG I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT SANGWOO YET HERE I AM

like that image of you will probably stay in his memory until he dies of the ripe age of 200

ngl it kinda traumatized him a little bit of how tired and pained you look with the tears rolling down your face and the blood that was escaping your body through your wounds

god you didnt deserve any of that

you deserved the world and the universe yet some people dared to take away your worth

ooo he was so mad

miyo was,,,, hurt??

can i say that??

i dont wanna,,,, explain bara arms iwa hurting a girl so youre gonna have to imagine that for yourselves

but at the end when they said slap, he didnt just ✨S L A P ✨ her

he ✨ B R O K E   S O M E   A N K L E S ✨

oiks is actually scared of him after that

like oiks had to peel him off of her and towards the infirmary where you and the team were

‘IWAIZUMI HAJIME, STOP!’

oof the first and last time oikawa tooru ever said that full name

he was breathing heavy and he was so ✨ A N G R Y ✨ with what she did to you yet he hears your soft scoldings, telling him off for hurting a girl

he wanted to see you

like right now

iwa tore himself from oikawa’s grasp and ✨ N Y O O M E D ✨ himself to the nurse’s office

there, you sat on the bed with the others scattered either on other beds or on the floor 

you smiled at the sight of him and he walked towards you and engulfed you in his arms

‘youre okay now. im here’

he whispered and you buried your face into his chest, breathing in his unique scent

lavender mixed with peppermint

he refused to leave your side so he ✨ M A D E ✨ some room on the bed beside you to sit and he wrapped his arm around your waist, holding you close

you held his hand while oikawa talked to you and as you shamefully bowed your head

but you were forgiven and everything was all good until the third years really got into plan

makki and mattsun promised to handle it all as they had family in the justice field while oikawa would go and get the girl suspended

‘but what about me?! i want-’

‘iwaizumi, you literally hit her. it’d be best if you’re not involved right now as you were the only one who physically touched her in a harmful manner like that’

ong when it come to y/n, the meme team is replaced by the assassin team

he tried to fight but in the end, 3 overpowered 1 and he was forced to sit back and opted to comfort you instead

he made sure you were safe to walk home but that day, you were the one who asked him to spend time with him

just you two

like after seeing him seethingly enter back into the room, you reached out and held his hand in yours, eyes trained on your fingers fiddling with his

‘iwa-san,,,, you said you downloaded the new godzilla movie?’

you whispered but he could still hear you and his heart swelled at your meek voice

‘yea, i did. and my mom bought those chips you like’

your eyes flitted up to meet his eyes and a soft smile spread on your lips and there was this thumping in his heart

maybe that was the first time that iwaizumi hajime felt differently towards you

a smile that seemed to be differently perceived than the rest

and it wasnt for the whole team

it was for him

and him alone

the trek to his house was quiet but you would hum nursery rhymes or the songs you heard earlier in the radio while skipping every few steps and tightly holding on to his hand

iwaizumi’s olive eyes watched you still radiate energy despite being so hurt for a long time

they then trailed to your linked hands and he unintentionally squeezed it, only figuring out he did it when you looked up to him and squeezed it back with a smile

he wanted to do something to make you forget of what happened

he didnt want you to think about the cruelty and pain so he was going to make sure you would continue smiling 

thankfully, his parents werent home so he wouldnt have to explain why he has a bandage-covered girl with him 

iwa led you upstairs to where his room was and your eyes widened when you saw what was inside

tiny action figurines of animes like bakugo from boku no hero academia or a tiny pikachu on his desk

there was a large country flag that you didnt recognize and a few godzilla posters and volleyball players decorating beside it

however, besides those normal things you wouldve expected,

there were many polaroids

polaroid pictures that were everywhere with no specific layout pattern and just placed anywhere that had room

iwa watched as you dazedly walked forward and entered the room to move towards the wall by his desk that had the most pictures against it

from pictures of him and oikawa to the third years to him and his parents or just the sunrise and human silhouettes

your fingers reached forward and traced the picture of him and the third years when they were still first years and took a spontaneous trip to the beach

‘mattsun stole his dad’s car and drove us to the beach without a license’

iwaizumi’s voice answered your questions and you looked back, shimmering eyes

this room,,, wasnt just a normal, teenage boy’s room

this was a room that represented iwaizumi hajime

from his natural character description like his love for volleyball evident in the volleyball player posters to the underneath description that was hidden like his love for godzilla and his love of taking pictures of the people he cares about the most

it was all that made up iwaizumi hajime

your feet took you to stand in front of him, still standing at the doorway, and you stood on your toes to try and be eye-level with him

‘youre really cool, iwa-san’

you whispered and his ears turned red, not from the compliment, but by the close distance between you two

iwa clearedhis throat and ruffled your hair roughly, pushing you down slightly back to the balls of your feet

‘i already knew that, brat. now go and sit over there and be comfortable or whatever while i go get the food’

he hurriedly turned to hide his growing red face but you stopped him

‘iwa-san,,, ano,,, can,, i borrow a hoodie?’

you mumbled, nervously thinking he might refuse 

but he grunted a response, not bothering to turn around

‘take your pick’

you smiled and thanked him before bounding over to the wardrobe that was pushed against the wall across his bed that was against the corner by his window

inside had so many hoodies and there were also shirts that were hung up on the other half

they were all graphic tees that either had american bands or anime or game references

opting for a mint green hoodie that says ‘SONIC NYOOM’, you had an undershirt under your button up and as you slipped the bloodied long sleeve off, he swung the door open, eyes focused on the tray of coke filled glasses

then he looked up and almost dropped it at the sight of you,,, like that

‘OH MY GOD SORRY’

he shrieked and carefully but hurriedly backtracked back to the hallway

ofc you were shocked too but you quickly put the hoodie on and went to get him

iwaizumi’s heart was hammering in his chest and he was VERY red with embarrassment 

how could he see you like that?!

a girl who wasnt his shouldnt be seen like that by his eyes!

a touch on his arm reminded him of his position and he was still holding the tray but it was clear from the liquid in the cups that he was shaking slightly

‘iwa-san, its okay. i still had a shirt on so dont misunderstand’

you reasoned and he nodded, still not looking at you

the beginning of the movie was quite awkward as you both were sitting next to each other on the floor, backs against his mattress while the laptop played godzilla in front of yall

but it seems it was just him who was feeling this way bc you were intrigued at this weird monster that was squshing building under its foot and you continued munching on the food

iwa stood up and coughed

‘im going to take a shower’

you paused it and stared up at him, a chip halfway in your mouth

‘oh? you want me to wait for you?’

he agressively shook his head

‘no! its okay i watched it already. just,,,, watch it’

at the end, his words came out jumbled in his hurry to go and calm his heart down

you shrugged and unpaused the movie to continue watching

iwa spent his time in the shower, thinking and trying to think of stupid thoughts like the time oikawa almost choked on a peanut when they were in middle school to distract him of thoughts of how adorable you were

ONG HE WAS JUST SHOWERING AND INNOCENTLY DOING SHOWER THINGS

‘no, i said she was like a sister to me. and a sister she’ll remain’

okay ngl even though theyre not related, im worried yall would be like ‘iNcESt’ but bls a lot of people have tried to sibling-zoned people yet realized they liked them in THAT way

as he wrapped himself with a towel, he then realized

oh my god he didnt bring clothes

LMAO NOOOO IWAAAAA

iwa frantically looked around and he saw his mother’s sakura themed robe and he paused, arguing silently with him if he should wear it

well, it was either that or he went back into the room and showed you,,,,,, this

sucking in a sharp breath, he kept the towel around his waist and slipped his arms through the tight arm holes and he awkwardly tried to keep it tied since he was so much bigger than his tiny mom

what is happening

you saw the door opening and excitedly turned to tell him about this one scene when your voice died down in your throat at the sight of him 

here was iwaizumi hajime, ultra muscle buff man who gets abs with a simple glance of the gym, wearing an all too-tight pink, cherry blossom print robe that was so tight the tie around it was shaking to keep it together

‘dont’

he whispered and that snapped your remaining surprise to double over in laughter

‘its so cute! iwa-san, youre so cute!’

you shrieked and he growled and hurriedly went to to grab grey sweatpants and a shirt before running straight back to the bathroom

when he finally came back out, his face was still red and he was pouting as he sat next to you back to his seat

he could feel you staring at him while looking constipated as you held your laugh in and the second your eyes met, your giggles fell out

iwa rolled his eyes

‘yes yes let it out’

‘hehe, iwa-san, i didnt know you had that style’

‘it isnt! i didnt want to walk in here practically naked with you in the room!’

he growled and you nodded, still not quite believing it

‘hai hai. just say you like pink, i wont tell’

you waved and iwa felt offended

‘what do you mean ‘hai hai’?! its really not!’

your lips pursed to keep more giggles in and iwa growled again before lunging to grab your sides and tickling you 

of course being careful to not touch your wounds

you shrieked at the ticklish feeling and iwa laughed as you made weak attempts to push him off

‘huh? what was that? whatd you say? cant talk anymore, can ya?’

he teased

‘NO!!!! IWA-SAAAAN!!!!!’

you shouted in between your laughter and he finally let up when you squealed out your apologies and promised to never say it again

you breathed air into your lungs and sat back up to recollect yourselves 

iwa saw the strands that escaped your bun and they were scattered everywhere looking messy with your flushed cheeks and teary eyes

oh my god you were beautiful

he was so happy that you still kept that smile despite what happened and he was going to fight to keep it there

forever

it was about nearly the end when you finally realized how different iwaizumi’s hair looked

‘oi, iwa-san, your hair is not naturally spiky?’

he continued eating the chips while still watching the movie

‘what would you expect? even shittykawa’s hair is like this. did ya know that he wakes up extra early to curl it into that shitty mess?’

your jaw dropped

‘EEEHHHH???!!!!!!!’

later, you asked him how he does his hair for school and he blindly reached for the gel that was resting on his desk before tossing it to you

‘here’

you looked at it and flickered over to his hair and then you had the greatest realization

‘GODZILLA-SAMA!’

you pointed and he stopped eating, turning to give you a confused look

‘ha?’

you shrieked in an another round of laughter

‘IWA-SAN LIKES GODZILLA-SAMA SO MUCH HE DOES HIS HAIR AFTER HIM!!!!’

you doubled over to the floor, clutching your stomach and iwaizumi’s flustered expression made you laugh harder

he knew you were smart but,,, not this smart

you figured out his secret

the secret he’s hidden since he was practically a toddler

even his best friend, the guy hes known since he was born, never made the connection

yet here you are, figuring it out not even a year of knowing him

was this part of the many reasons he,, felt his heart beat for you?

oikawa was relieved that you had the bright twinkle in your eyes the next time he saw you and you were actively talking to iwaizumi in that early morning practice

‘oh? y/n-chan, is iwa-chan your best friend now?’

he tried not to sound jealous for his own best friend’s closeness to you and he added a teasing smile for extra measure

okay that hurted me a bit

iwaizumi snarled and blasted the volleyball towards his face before he could even yell or shout

‘iwa-san, dont do that’

you chided softly, small hands wrapping around his muscly arm

but iwa patted your head

‘deserving people deserve things to happen to them’

you rolled your eyes but smiled at him

‘hai hai’

the next week, iwa still kept a close eye on you in case someone else decided to mess with you 

but you told him that you swear youd tell him if someone did and he trusts you so he backed off a little

one day, he was eating lunch with the other third years in their classroom when you busted through the door, excitedly holding your phone

‘iwa-san! i figured out what country your flag was!’

he was halfway of shoving rice in his mouth when iwa looked at you

‘oh? you couldve just asked me though?’

you pouted and went to pull a chair from another desk to sit beside him

‘nooo. i wanted to work for that information. so you’re from the philippines, iwa-san?’

he nodded proudly

‘yep’

your eyes shone with interest

‘really?! you look japanese so it must be one of your parents. hey, iwa-san, which island are you from? i read about them and they have like 7641 islands-’

the others watched as you read through the article in your phone and iwa wasnt even following your words, instead staring at you with a dazed look and a lovesick smile

mattsun, makki, and oikawa exchanged looks of surprise because in all the years theyve known him especially oikawa, iwa was never interested in girls and such

he was a straight forward man with goals and straight sight to get them done with no distractions like relationships or love

yet here he was

slowly falling in love with you without even knowing he is

he continued to fall with the simplest things about you

from the perfume that you wore everyday to the way you would tuck your hair behind your ear when you were talking to someone

little quirks he used to miss was now being noticed even if you were right behind him and not in his line of vision

now, the boys were starting to see the difference of their precious ace

it was as if when he started to like you, they knew immediately by how he was acting

then one day during practice, you were late and they were all looking around for you and when they couldnt find you, they met back in the gym with nervous looks

iwa was already pacing around, a scary aura radiating off of him, and kindaichi, who went with him to look around the school, warned the others of iwaizumi’s worry

‘he was slamming doors open and he was walking so fast i had to run to even keep up with him’

then you busted through the gym door

you were actually picking up food for the team and sweets and you were held up when makki’s puffs were still being cooked

they rallied around you to make sure you werent hurt and you assured them but iwa pulled them away like picked them up and threw them off to the side and took you in his arms

iwa thought you were hurt and he was so worried something happened to you again

the hug was bone-crushing with how hard he was squeezing you but you felt his worry though and you freed your arms to wrap them around his neck

‘im okay, iwa-san’

you whispered in his ear and he nodded

‘let me hold you for a second’

he mumbled and you nodded

‘oi, theres food in the bags so make sure you eat it all. coach paid for it all so dont leave behind anything’

the mention of the food distracted them from you and iwa and they piled on top of each other to reach their food first

iwa was grateful that you distracted the others from seeing him being vulnerable towards you

‘i thought-’

‘shh,,, you have me right here, right now. safe and sound’

you knew how much seeing you all battered messed him up and his attempt of making you forget about it has been

and his worry of you being gone without no sign of where you went will forever be there and he will always have that thought in the back ofhis mind

the next time you came over, you actually met his parents

since you went home early before, you didnt catch his parents when they came home around 10 minutes after you left

but this time, they were already home with his mom cooking dinner while his father was sitting on the dining chair reading a newspaper

iwa walked through the door, shouting he was home, and you did the same thing to be customary

oof his parents were surprised

his mom turned around to share a look of surprise with her husband

sure they havent seen tooru in a while but they were pretty sure his voice wasnt that high pitched

right?

‘hajime, did you hit tooru so much you ruined his-’

then his mother stopped talking at the sight of you holding iwa’s hand tightly when yall stepped around the corner

you sheepishly smiled at them and bowed your head in greeting

oh my

so this was why iwaizumi hajime-san was really really really handsome

his parents were freaking good looking

like his mother was aphrodite with her flawless melanin skin and doe shaped eyes with a mole under her left eye

and his father was like ares, so handsome yet still manly and his appearance was a special type of good-looking with his buffness and ruffed appearance

‘iwa-san, i didnt know your parents were gods’

you mumbled, still staring at them

iwaizumi choked and coughed, flustered

‘oh my!’

his mother placed a hand over her mouth

‘hello’

his father stood up to walk in front of you and held his hand out

‘i’m hajime’s father’

you let go of hajime’s hand to shake his own with both of your hands

‘really nice to meet you! i’m l/n y/n! seijoh volleyball manager! first year!’

you introduced then stepped aside to fully bow 90 degrees

iwaizumi thought it was so cute of how flustered you were at meeting his parents

‘ay nako! nak, i didnt know you had such a beautiful girlfriend!’

she squealed and hurriedly went to stand in front of you and gently grasped your arms to stand you back straight and took a good look at you

‘youre so beautiful, iha. nice skin, pretty eyes, ang ganda!’

even with your research of tagalog, you didnt quite understand what she was saying

iwa noticed your slightly confused expression and he laughed, tucking his hands in his pockets

‘sorry, my nay speaks in taganese when she gets excited’

‘t-taganese?’

‘tagalog and japanese’

you nodded in understanding

it was time to put your basic reserach to test

‘hello po’

you greeted her and nervously took her hand and pressed the back of it to your forehead before slowly lowering it down and letting go

her wide eyes made you think you did something bad or even offensive!

‘i-i’

‘HAY NAKO, HAJIMEE~!’

she shrieked 

‘YUNG-!!! YUNG-!!!’

okay im terrified

iwa noticed his mother’s malfunction and gently wrapped his arm around her shoulder and veered her back to her kitchen

‘sorry about her, l/n-chan. its just,,,, hajime hasnt brought home a girl before. and you doing that mustve done it in for her’

you worriedly watched hajime calm his mom down with a smile and talking to her hushed

in their perspective,,,

‘shes so nice, nak! marry her, okay? shes very pretty and she made an effort to please your nanay, so go and marry her!’

ohmylord im nervous

initially, iwa only wanted to go and hang out with you and watch a movie

not have a full dinner with his family

lmao i shouldve told you that youve been friends for months now

his mother cooked sinigang and adobo and more filipino dishes, adding even more when she saw you were joining them

the dining table was covered with a large plate full of food and you were so fascinated because this was a side of iwa that you wanted to know more about

‘wow!’

you said, not thinking, at the deep-fried fish that still had its eyeballs intact

iwa genuinely thought you would’ve shyed away from it in disgust but your eyes were glistening with genuine interest

‘iwa-san! youre so lucky you get to eat this stuff!’

you told him, looking over at his direction

while mrs iwaizumi was lading in the soup into the big bowl, mr iwaizumi was sitting at the dining table, watching your interaction and hajime telling you what each food was and your noises of surprise

he watched his son laugh when you said the palabok reminded you of the orange boy hinata 

and he also watched his son look at you so lovestruck and exactly like how he looks at his wife

soon, his mother finished and they rounded the table before saying a quick prayer to bless the food and digging in

‘so, what do you want to start with, iha?’

mrs iwaizumi asked and your wide eyes looked around

‘hm, im not sure. whats your favorite iwa-san?’

you looked to your right towards hajime who was busy eating and stopped before pointing his lips towards a direction

‘that one’

‘hah?’

you asked 

mrs iwaizumi laughed at her son’s actions

‘sorry, l/n-chan, my son has adapted my traits. he was pointing to this, adobo. do you want some?’

‘yes please’

the smell made your mouth water and you started to tuck in

maybe it was your managerial instincts, but you used your napkin to wipe hajime’s lips and he was also used to this and turned his head to make it easier for you then he went to grab the water jug and re-fill your glass

once it was done, you both silently went back to eating

his parents watched his exchange and it was like watching a married couple taking care of each other

‘so, l/n-chan, you said you were their manager’

mr iwaizumi started and you nodded, wiping your lips

‘yes. i have been for a while now and please, call me y/n’

‘hajime actually told us he had a new manager for his team and tooru told us too. but we didnt know you were a girl. its just so interesting for hajime to bring you home as he has never really had any female friends’

mrs iwaizumi’s comment made you chuckle and iwa’s eyes widened in embarassment

‘nay! of course ive had female friends! ive had friends from all genders!’

he reasoned but you teasingly smiled at him

‘ah, im not really surprised. iwa-san doesnt exactly have the appearance that girls are brave enough to approach’

he sent you a betrayed glance

‘hah?! what’s that supposed to mean?!’

you shrugged, going back to your food

‘im just saying that you always have this intense look in your eyes and youre always frowning. but its cute so its fine. and besides, i dont think theyve seen you laugh since you dont really smile a lot, iwa-san’

‘but you’ve seen me smile!’

‘eung. but its only to me. if they knew the stuff i knew like you being a godzilla fan or your collection of succelents, theyd see you like oikawa-san’

‘HAH?! YOU SEE ME LIKE SHITTYKAWA?!’

mrs iwaizumi held her husband’s hand on the table as they watched you both bicker and tease each other with a smile

hajime has always been on the rougher side of things and he doesnt really have many close friends other than the team and even then, tooru is the only one he can really be himself around

yet here you are, bringing out the boy hajime really is and making him laugh, a sound his parents dont really hear outside the house

and your eyes

god, your eyes held admiration, life,,,, and you might not know this yet,, but love

her eyes trailed her son who teasingly headbutted you and you faking a surprise and doing the same

then you heard his father’s cough which brought you back to where you were and the situation and the people that were there

you felt embarrassment creeping up inside you and you bowed

‘im sorry for acting like that, iwaizumi-san. i-’

‘no, dont apologize, darling. please, dont’

her soft smile made the nerves in you ease and hajime’s father winked at him and he knew exactly what his father was trying to say

after dinner, you volunteered to wash the plates but they veered you away from there and towards the living room 

‘oh my god, pops! stop her!’

hajime whined because he knows what his mother was going to do

she was going to show him his baby pictures

you sat on the beige couch and watched as she reached under the coffee table and revealed a few albums that had iwaizumi hajime written on the cover

‘now, y/n-chan, hajime wasnt always this pouty. in fact, he used to always have a smile on his face and laughed at the littlest things! like right here! a leaf fell on him and he-’

stories of his childhood was exchanged throughout the night and you were laughing so hard that tears were falling out of your eyes while hajime wrapped your shoulders with his arm and he would squeeze you tightly whenever you made fun of him

‘oh dear! iwa-san! you-!’

you didnt finished as you continued to laugh and he sighed

‘nay, can we go eat dessert now?’

he asked his mother and she was beginning to feel sorry for him so she smiled and nodded

‘okay. hajime, come help me’

‘iwaizumi-san, i can-’

‘no, y/n-chan. dont you worry your pretty little head about anything and just look through more of these pictures’

hajime followed his mother to their kitchen before she stopped and turned around

his mother’s height was around 5′1 so she had to look up to meet his eyes and her hands were clasped around his biceps

she is definitely beautiful and he cursed at how little he got from his mother other than her skin color

mrs iwaizumi married her husband and immigrated to japan to have a family and your polite action from earlier moved her as she hasnt experienced that in nearly 2 decades

‘nay, shes,,,, just a friend’

he reasoned, a wobbly smile to cover up his want for that title to change

yet mothers def knows best and saw right through it

she gave him a firm look with furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips

‘nak, dont lie to yourself. i raised you to never tell a lie and lying to yourself is considered lying to someone. she’s not your KAibigan, shes your kaIBIGan’

now, hajime knew a little bit of tagalog as his mother made sure he was able to at least speak to his relatives back home

so he got a hint of what she was saying yet was confused 

then he realized it

his blush creeped up his neck and he chuckled, ducking his head low to avoid his mother’s eyes

‘nak, listen to me. papunta ka pa lang, pabalik na ako. youre still growing and you may be confused right now, but make sure to think wisely and dont live with regrets. nanay doesnt want you to go through it all by yourself since she knows how hard it was. so please, listen to me and pursue her. shes special, hajime. she makes you so, so happy. i see it in your eyes, her eyes, god has fated you together. i feel it’

now if a filipino mother actually tells their son to go after a girl, thats a pretty big thing as its known that mothers are the hardest to convince and are fiercely protective of their sons, especially if its an only son, but mrs iwaizumi literally tells hajime to go court you because she sees how happy you make him and is willing to let hajime go to you 

definitely his mother’s words stuck to him and as he walked you home, he was busy thinking that he was quiet and you were worried as he would be talking right now

‘iwa-san? you okay?’

you asked and he blinked, taken back to reality from his daydream

‘hm, yea’

he answered to look at you

hes been pining for months now and he slipped his hand into yours, holding it tightly

uwu if you want to see iwa moments with y/n, read through the seijoh manager series as theres a lot of them in there

he wanted you yet, he knew it would be selfish of him to keep you in the future

he would be a college student while you’re in your 2nd year

would you want to be so far away from him?

could you handle it?

‘yanno, iwa-san, your dad told me something interesting’

you suddenly said, squeezing his hand and kicking rocks while looking up at the night sky

‘what was it? something embarrassing?’

he immediately feared that they told you that story when he was still potty training and he fell straight into the toilet 

‘hmm,,, no. he told me that he met your nanay when she was a high school student and he was a in an intern at your lolo’s company’

iwa listened and he had a smile at how you said the tagalog word for grandfather

‘he said she almost ran him over by her bike and she fled but they met again when she visited your lolo. through that, they became friends and then she confessed to him. apparently, he declined because she was younger than him, although just 3 years, and he was leaving for his own country in a few months so he didnt know if she would wait for him’

were,,,, you reading his mind?

iwa knew of his parents story yet with you telling it, it sounded a million times more interesting

‘yet she promised him. thats it, just a promise. that she would remain faithful to him, she would keep herself for him and when she finally graduates, she would go and find him and they could be happy together. he said it was the longest 3 years of his life yet when he saw in the airport, he felt like the wait was worth it. because he gets to hold the embodiment of happiness in his arms for the rest of his life’

you finished and he hummed

‘times have changed, y/n’

‘even you?’

you stopped walking and he naturally stopped too

‘would you wait for me like he did if i promised myself to you? if i promised you that despite the few years of waiting, i would still be yours and remain yours until we’re ready to be together?’

WHAT IS HAPPENING!!!!!!!

iwa’s heart was drumming in his chest and he wanted so desparately to look at you in the eyes but you were making that impossible as your head was bowed and your eyes were fixed on the concrete you both stood on

‘of course, i would’

your head snapped up and e/c clashed with olive eyes 

‘i would wait for you. we may,,, be young right now. and they might think we’re,,, being impulsive. but i dont care. because right now, all that matters, is you and me. we can think about the consequences later, but right now, i just want to kiss you’

he admitted, red ears seen by the moonlight

your body shook

‘do it, no balls’

well,,,, he has the balls

and under the moon, at 8:34 pm, iwaizumi hajime kissed you

OML THIS REMINDS ME OF THAT SEIJOH SHORT WHEN HE WAS TALKING TO OIKAWA AND HIS NEIGHBORS ARE LIKE ‘AH SHITE HERE WE GO AGAIN’

it didnt come as a surprise to the team when yall announced your relationship

well,, you both actually didnt tell them outright until like weeks later

what can you say?

you and iwa are very private people and you dont really like to show off in public

even though yall lit rally are stuck to the hip and he does things that he doesnt even think hes doing but he is totally doing

you were only caught by,,, guess who

mrs iwaizumi

it was weeks when she met up with mrs oikawa bc theyre totally best friends and thats why their sons are best friends

she told her of her son’s girlfriend and how sweet you were and how mrs oikawa should be jealous that her son doesnt have a girlfriend like that and the standards for oikawa’s future girlfriend was raised just by that teasing

oikawa literally came into after school practice after a phone call with his mother, fuming

you were talking to kindaichi and yahaba with iwa beside you, arm around your waist totally not obvious guys

and yall just saw an angry oikawa stomping towards yall

‘y/n-chan, iwa-chan, why the hell did my mom just call me and tell me that im not allowed to bring home a girl if she doesnt have h/c with s/c (skin color) and e/c and h/m (height measurement)?’

you shrugged

‘oikawa-san, i’ve never even met your mom before’

but iwa had a hunch

‘ahh,,,, my mom mustve been bragging to your mom. yanno how they are’

oikawa shot him a disbelieving look

‘IWA-CHAN! ITS BAD ENOUGH THAT YOU GOT A GIRLFRIEND AND I DONT! BUT ITS WORSE THAT YOUR RELATIONSHIP IS AFFECTING MY FUTURE ONE!’

he ranted, completely unaware that he just outed your entire relationship to the team

tbh they werent even surprised

like they were all ‘damn now shes taken. but cant say i didnt see that coming’

they took it pretty well too

they know how iwa is and they literally respect this mans and if anything, out of the whole team, he is the best candidate for your boyfriend

dating iwa is totally normal and yall just have increased touches?? like i dont know how to explain like he’s constantly holding your hand or arm around your waist or shoulder etc

literally nothing changed

you still have dinners at his house and iwa also knows your family and all that

and the most important thing is,

he kept that promise

even when he was literally at the other side of the world,

he still remained yours and you kept your own promise and waited patiently for his return

OOOOO TIMESKIP IWAIZUMI HAJIME (27) ATHLETE TRAINER

a little girl with bouncing dark brown hair was giggling as she maneuvered herself around the tall people

a shout from her parents and little sister was only making her run faster until she crashed into the legs of the person she’s been looking for

his blue jersey was similar to hers and she raised her arms up with a bright smile

‘uncle!’

she yelled and he chuckled before hoisting her up to his arms

‘ah, reyna-chan, didnt mom and dad tell you to wait for them? look! tala-chan is crying because you left her’

she followed his finger to her little sister, who was in her father’s arms, crying and reaching out for her

‘nee-chan!’

she screeched

finally, her parents were there and you were scolding her for running off

‘reyna, just dont do that again’

you said and she nodded, pouting and holding her uncle’s thumb

‘thank you, tooru-san. i dont know what i would do if she got lost’

oikawa grinned then gently patted the hat-covered head of the newborn baby girl that was strapped to your chest

‘hehe, its okay, y/n-chan. after all! uncle is always there to save reyna-chan!’

she shrieked when he held her up and hajime shook his head in his antics

‘where’s the others? i saw them in the stands but-’

he was cut off when he heard the shouts and yells from the other side that could only belong to your boys

‘woooo!!!!’

kindaichi’s voice echoed through the place and mattsuhana were rushing to greet their goddaughters

tala shyly accepted the arms of mattsun while makki was squealing quietly when darna was holding his finger tightly as she slept

‘taka-san, wanna hold her? she’s easier to hold when she’s sleeping’

‘oh can i?’

his eyes held the stars as the 11-month-old raised her fist then lowered it back down, sleep still heavy on her

‘waaa~ darna-chan is growing really quickly’

kunimi whispered, peering over his senpai to look at the baby whos eyes kept fluttering

you chuckled while looking at oikawa and him playfully bouncing reyna

‘tooru-san, congratulations on your win. it seems you’ve beaten hajime this time’

you complimented and the brunette smiled brightly at you, adjusting the little girls in his arms

‘ei, y/n-chan, i’ll beat him next time, and next time and the next time!’

every time he said ‘next’ he gave his goddaughter a kiss on her cheek making her giggle

your husband was pouting at the reminder of japan’s loss and you reached over to wrap your arms around him causing hajime to turn his head away from you

‘aww, my 4th baby is sad now’

you cooed and cupped his face delicately on your hands making him sulk and whine

the others, watching the scene, continue to be surprised at this side of their captain that remains to only be caused by you

‘ugh, nearly a decade later and theyre still sappy’

yahaba gagged and watari slapped his back

‘let them be happy’

‘come on! im in the mood for spaghetti! you like spaghetti, tala-chan?’

‘eung!’

mattsun cheered with kindaichi and she raised her hands to share the same energy

once everyone was situated in a restaurant and ordered, small talks were shared around the table of the past

‘haha, spaghetti is how your baba found out about you, tala-chan’

yahaba’s comment made the walking group laugh at the memory of seeing the video you sent in the seijoh group chat

‘i wanted to be creative with my second child since my firstborn was revealed by this loudmouth’

oikawa winced at the indirect diss at him

‘y/n-chan! i was really excited to find out i was going to be an uncle!’

‘youre already an uncle, bakakawa!’

hajime has toned down the insults to keep it pg for the children

‘but-!’

they started to argue, the oldest daughter looking disinterested as she sees this happening or hearing it whenever her dad and uncle video chat

‘it took me forever to find a ‘prego’ pasta sauce in the grocery store like i dont know why. was there a shortage?’

you complained, remembering the frustration

your fellow first years snickered at you and kindaichi prodded fun at you

‘is that why you just outright told him you were pregnant the day you found out?’

you rolled your eyes and watched makki and mattsun and tala watch the youngest as she wiggled her fists in the air and was awake enough to babble ‘makki’ over and over again

that was her first word and although she is now able to say a few words, she still repeats her first word over and over again

‘we had a fight and it just came out so of course i didnt have time to prepare!’

you defended and hajime finished his antics with oikawa just as you said that

‘what-what was your words again? ‘i really want to push you off the roof right now but i want my baby to meet their bastard father first?’‘

you gasped at that regretful statement and punched him in the arm

‘hajime! stop!’

you whined and covered your face with the sleeves of your his hoodie

‘hehe, y/n, you should do that again’

kyotani teased and you glared at him

‘shut up kyotani’

eyebrows were raised

‘eh? are you more hormonal?’

‘do you realize you already have 3 daughters?’

‘iwaizumi-san really wants to have a volleyball team family’

‘at least wait a year and a half, you animals’

‘so,, like hes that good huh?’

hajime growled and leaned over to intimidate but you snarled and jumped on your feet, being held back by the arms by kindaichi and hajime to stop yourself from leaping across the table to kill yahaba

‘keep talking like shite and i’ll make sure none of you become the godfather of this baby’

okay what

one, did you just curse

and two, this baby?!

‘im big sister again?!’

reyna ruined the surprised silence and then chaos ensued

‘WHAT!’

‘BABY?!’

‘THIS BABY?!’

you just realized what you said and smirked at the chaos you created and sat back down, leaning on the back of the chair and smugly taking a sip of your water

‘oh the power i hold in my hands’

you teased and oikawa pointed at you

‘when! how long!’

you looked at hajime who was so shocked that his eyes glazed over and a passerby wouldve thought he was dead

‘apparently 3 months’

oikawa started counting and his eyes widened at that thought

‘you-! you stayed in argentina! in my house! my house-!’

‘yep. both of them created under your house’

what 

!!!!!

hajime fainted 

oikawa screamed

a/n: okay i admit i got a little too carried away with this one. i just love filo!iwa and this was mostly written in his pov bc cmon we all know we love iwa and fell in love w him the moment we saw him

[erictmason]

The Road To “Godzilla VS. Kong”, Day Four

(Sorry for the delay on this one, Life proved just a bit too busy the other day to finish it; my “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” review is gonna be pushed back as a result too.  But!  No worries, on we go. ^_^)

KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017

Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Writers: Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, Derek Connolly, John Gatins

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John Goodman, John C. Reilly

Technically speaking, Gareth Edwards’ “Godzila” from 2014 was the first entry in what is now generally referred to as “The Monsterverse”, an attempt by Warner Bros. Studios and Legendary Pictures to do a Marvel Studios-style series of various interconnected movies (and which, like most such attempts to cash in on that particular trend, hasn’t really panned out; “Godzilla VS. Kong” seems likely to be its grand finale as far as movies are concerned, the only two “names” it had going for it are Godzilla and Kong themselves, and even at its most successful it was never exactly a Powerhouse Franchise).  But the thing is, when that movie was made, the idea of a “Monsterverse” did not yet exist; it was only well after the fact that Legendary and Warner Bros. got the idea to turn a new “Kong” project into the building block of a Shared Universe of their own that they could connect with the 2014 “Godzilla”, with a clear eye on getting to remake one of the most singularly iconic (and profitable) Giant Monster Movies of all time.  As you might guess from that description, however, said “Kong” project also had not originally been intended for such a purpose; it would not be until 2016 that it would be retooled from its original purpose (a prequel to the original “King Kong” titled simply “Skull Island”) into its present form, which goes out of its way to reference Monarch, the monster-tracking Science organization seen over in 2014’s “Godzilla” and which includes a very obviously Marvel-inspired post-credits stinger explicitly tying Kong and Godzilla’s existences together.  

The resulting film is fun enough, all things told, but that graft is also really, distractingly obvious.

Honestly, I wish I knew why I’m not, generally, fonder of “Skull Island” than I am.  It’s not as if, taken as a whole, it does anything especially bad; indeed it does a great deal that is actively good.  Consider, for example, the rather unique choice to make it a Period Piece; that’s decently rare for a Monster Movie as it is (indeed one of the only other examples that springs to mind for me is Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake of “King Kong”, which chose to retain the original’s 1933 setting), and it’s rarer still that the era it chooses to inhabit is an immediately-post-Vietnam 1970’s.  Aesthetically speaking, the movie takes a decent amount of fairly-obvious influence from that most classic of Vietnam-era films, “Apocalypse Now” (a fact that director Jordan Vogt-Roberts was always fairly open about), and it results in some of the movie’s strongest overall imagery (in particular a shot of Kong, cast in stark silhouette, standing against the burning sun on the horizon with a fleet of helicopters approaching him, one of a surprisingly small number of times the movie plays with visual scale to quite the same degree or with quite the same success as “Godzilla” 2014).  It also means the movie is decked out in warm, lush colors that really do bring out all the personality of its Jungle setting in the most compelling way and, given how important the setting is to the film as a whole, that proves key; Skull Island maybe doesn’t become a character in its own right the way the best settings should (too much of our time is spent in fairly indistinct forests especially), but it does manage to feel exciting and unusual in the right ways more often than not.  The “Apocalypse Now” influence also extends to our human cast,  which is sizeable enough here (in terms of major characters we need  to pay attention to played by notable actors, “Skull Island” dwarfs “Godzilla” 2014 by a significant margin) that the framework it provides-a mismatched group defined by various interpersonal/intergenerational tensions trying to make their way through an inhospitable wilderness, ostensibly in search of a lost comrade-is decently necessary.  Though here we already run into one of those aspects of “Skull Island” that doesn’t quite land for me.  Taken as a whole, it sure feels like the human characters here should be decently interesting; certainly, our leads are all much better defined and more engagingly performed than Ford Brody, to draw the most immediately obvious point of comparison.  Brie Larson (as journalistic Anti-War photographer Mason Weaver), Tom Hiddleston (as former British Army officer turned Gun For Hire James Conrad), and John C. Reilly (as Hank Marlow, a World War II soldier stranded on Skull Island years ago) definitely turn in decently strong performances; I wouldn’t call it Career Best work for any of them (Hiddleston especially feels like he’s on auto-pilot half the time, while Larson has to struggle mightily against how little the script actually gives her to work with when you stop and look at it) but they at least prove decently enjoyable to watch (Reilly especially does a solid job of making his character funny without quite pushing him over the edge into Total Cartoon Territory).  I likewise feel like Samuel L. Jackson’s Preston Packard has the potential to be a genuinely-great character; his lingering resentment at the way the Vietnam War played out and the way that feeds into his determination to find and defeat Kong is, again, a clever and compelling use of the 70’s period setting, it gives us a good, believable motivation with a clear and strong Arc to it, and Jackson does a really solid job of playing his Anger as genuine and poignant rather than simply petulant or crazed.  But there’s just too much chaff amongst the wheat, too much time and energy devoted to characters and ideas that don’t have any real pay-off.  This feels especially true of John Goodman’s Bill Randa, the Monarch scientist who arranges the whole expedition; the Monarch stuff in general mostly feels out of place, but Randa in particular gets all of these little notes and beats that seem meant to go somewhere and then just kind of don’t.  Which is kind of what happens with most of the characters in the movie, is the thing; we spend a lot of screen-time dwelling on certain aspects of their backstories or personalities, and then those things effectively stop mattering at all after a certain point, even Packard’s motivations.  A Weak Human Element was one of the problems in “Godzilla” 2014 as well, though, and you’ll recall I quite liked that movie.  There, though, the human stuff was honestly only ever important for how it fed into the monster stuff; it was the connective tissue meant to get us from sequence to sequence and not much more.  Here, though, it forms the heart and soul of the story, and that means its deficiencies feel a lot more harmful to the whole.

Still, those deficiencies really aren’t that severe, and moreover, like I was saying before, there’s a lot about “Skull Island” to actively enjoy.  The Monsters themselves do remain the central draw, after all, and for the most part the movie does a solid job with that aspect of things.  It does not, perhaps, recreate “Godzilla” 2014’s attempt to make believable animals out of them (even as it does design most of them with even more obvious, overt Real World Animal elements), but there is a certain playful energy that informs them at a conceptual level that I appreciate.  Buffalos with horns that look like giant logs with huge strands of moss and grass hanging off their edges, spiders whose legs are adapted to look like tree trunks, stick bugs so big that their camouflage makes them look like fallen trees…the designs feel physically plausible (especially thanks to some strong effects work that makes them feel well inserted into the real environments), but there’s a slightly-humorous tilt to a lot of them that I appreciate, especially since it never outright winks at the audience in a way that would undercut the stakes of the story. Kong too is very well done; rather than the heavily realistic approach taken by the Peter Jackson version from 2005, this Kong is instead very much ape-like but also very clearly his own creature (in particular he stands fully erect most of the time), with a strong sense of Personality to him as well; some of the best parts of the movie are those times where we simply peek in on Kong simply living his life, even when that life is one that is, by nature, violent and dangerous.  Less successful, sadly, are his nemeses, the Skullcrawlers; very much like “Godzilla” 2014, Kong is here envisioned as a Natural Protection against a potentially-dangerous species that threatens humanity (or in this case the Iwi Tribe who live on Skull Island, but we’ll talk more about them later), and while they’re hardly bad designs (the way their snake-like lower bodies give them a lot of neat tricks to play against their enemies in battle are genuinely fun in the right sort of Scary Way), they’re also pretty bland and forgettable, even compared to the MUTOS.  That said, they serve their purpose well enough, and their big Action Scene showdowns with Kong are genuinely solid.  Indeed, the movie’s big climactic brawl between Kong and the biggest of the Skullcrawlers has a lot of good pulpy energy to it (particularly with how Kong winds up using various tools picked up from all around the battlefield to give himself an edge), likewise there’s a certain Wild Fun to the sequence where our hapless humans have to try and survive a trek through the Crawlers’ home-turf.

Where things get a bit tricky again is when the movie attempts to put its own spin on “Godzilla”’s conception of its monsters as part of their own kind of unique ancient eco-system. The sense of Grandeur that gave a lot of that aspect such weight there is mostly absent here, especially; there are instances where some of that feeling comes through (Kong’s interactions with some of the non-Crawler species, for example, do a good job giving us an endearing sense of how Kong fits into this world), but far more often it treats the monsters as Big Set-Piece Attractions.  Which is fine as far as it goes, it just also means a lot of them aren’t as memorable or impactful as I might like.  Meanwhile, the way the Iwis have built their home to accommodate, interact with, and protect themselves from the island’s bestiary feels like a well-designed concept that manages to suggest a lot of History without having to spell it out for us in a way that I appreciated (I would also be inclined to apply this to the very neat multi-layered stone-art used to portray Kong and the Crawlers except that the sequence where we see them is the most overt “let’s stop and do some world-building” exposition dump in the whole movie).  But the Iwis in general are one of the more difficult elements of the movie to process, too; it seems really clear there was a deliberate effort here to avoid the most grossly racist stuff that has been present in prior attempts to portray the Natives of Skull Island, and as far as it goes I do think those efforts bear some fruit; we are, at the very least, very far away from the Scary Ooga-Booga tone of, say, “King Kong VS. Godzilla”, and that feels like it counts for something.  I just also feel like there’s some dehumanizing touches to their portrayal (in particular they never speak; I don’t mean to imply that Not Speaking equals Inhuman, but the fact that we are not made privy to how exactly they do communicate means we’re very much kept at arm’s length from them in a way that seems at least somewhat meant to alienate us from them), especially given their role in the story as a whole is relatively minor.  

At the end of the day, though, all the movie’s elements, good and bad, don’t really feel like they add up together coherently enough to make an impact.  And I think if I had to try and guess why, even as I find it wholly enjoyable with a lot to genuinely recommend it by, I don’t find myself especially enamored by “Skull Island”.  It has a lot of different ideas of how to approach its story-70’s pastiche, worldbuilding exercise, Monster Mash-but doesn’t seem to quite succeed at realizing any of them fully, indeed often allowing them to get in each other’s ways.  It isn’t, again, a bad movie as a result of that; there really isn’t any stretch of it where I found myself bored or particularly unentertained.  But I did paradoxically find myself frequently wanting more, even as by rights the movie delivers on basically what I was looking for from it.